The 35th annual Fiestas Patrias celebration, commemorating Mexico’s independence, takes place this weekend in downtown Santa Ana, from Friday, Sept. 13 to Sunday, Sept. 15. Don’t miss the parade, at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15. The Fiestas Patrias Parade will start at 4 p.m. on 15th Street and Main Street, making a right onto Civic Center, ending at N. Flower Street. The parade is a great opportunity to take pictures of Orange County politicians trolling for Latino votes. I fully expect to see Assemblyman Tom Daly there despite his long record of anti-Latino votes as the former Mayor of Anaheim. And you have to believe that Supervisor Janet Nguyen will be there too – as she is now running for Lou Correa’s State Senate seat, which is up for grabs in 2014.
The Santa Ana Police Department never sent out a press release this year regarding the streets that will be closed for the parade, so here is the info we posted last year:
- Sycamore between 17th and 10th, 16th St. between the west side of Bush and Main St., 15th St. between the west side of Bush and the east side of Broadway.
- Main between the south side of 17th and the north side of Santa Ana Blvd. and all side streets one block east and west of Main St.
- Broadway from the north side of Santa Ana Blvd. to the south side of 10th St. Civic Center Drive from the west side of Bush to Flower. Street closures to include one block north and south of Civic Center Drive between Flower and Bush Streets. Birch from the north side of Civic Center to the south side of 10th. Sycamore from the north side of Santa Ana Blvd. to the south side of 10th. Flower from Civic Center Drive to the north side of Santa Ana Blvd.
- Ross from the north side of Santa Ana Blvd to the south side of Civic Center Drive.
- Sixth Street from Flower to Boyd.
- Primary street closures will be in place from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Parade times: 4 pm to 6 pm.
Parking Info:
Parking Downtown Street Parking, Metered Monday-Saturday $1/hr 8am-8pm Free After 8pm 3rd & Sycamore Two-Story Structure Open 7 days a week $1/hr 8am-8pm Free After 8pm 3rd & Birch Three-Story Structure $1/hr 8am-8pm Free After 8pm 3rd & Bush St. Flat Lot Metered 8am-8pm Free After 8pm
Two-Story Structure $1/hr 8am-8pm Free After 8pm The promoters of the Fiestas Patrias, MX Live, never posted the schedule for this year’s event. All they have posted is pictures showing the musical lineup, such as this one: 
