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. Continue reading
Category Archives: Arts and Culture
Fiestas Patrias Parade Grand Marshal will be Carla Estrada, Telenovela star
City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County
Community Alert: Renowned Mexican Television Producer Carla Estrada will be the Grand Marshal for this Year’s Fiestas Patrias Parade
SANTA ANA, CA (September 12, 2013) – This Sunday, September 15th, 2013 the annual parade celebrating Mexican Independence Day will kick off at 4:00 p.m at the corner of Main and 15th St. in the City of Santa Ana. Renowned Mexican television producer Carla Estrada will be the Grand Marshal for this year’s Fiestas Patrias parade. Continue reading
Santa Ana High School Alums to host a Mariachi Concert on 9/13
Santa Ana High School Alums Host Mariachi Concert
THE EVENT: On Friday, September 13, the Salazar family will host and perform in an Alumni Benefit Concert to celebrate Mexican Independence Day and to help the choirs at Santa Ana High School. The Salazar’s are all Santa Ana High School graduates and former members of the school’s choir. It’s a family tradition! Continue reading
Santa Ana Public Library welcomes author Ruben Acosta Vallejo on 9/19
Santa Ana Community Alert: Santa Ana Public Library Welcomes Author Ruben Acosta Vallejo
SANTA ANA, CA (September 11, 2013) – The Santa Ana Public Library is pleased to present local author Ruben Acosta Vallejo for a discussion of his book Dying Freedom: Insurrection 1810. Through this wonderful work of historical fiction, Acosta helps a new generation understand the personal cost of their ancestors’ struggles and triumphs.
Ruben Acosta is a teacher who grew up in Santa Ana, California. He learned English as a teenager while practicing his grandfather’s mariachi songs. He is a former amateur boxer and enjoys playing baseball. Ruben received a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Fullerton, as well as a Master’s Degree in Cross-Cultural Teaching. He currently teaches second grade at Heroes Elementary in the City of Santa Ana and lives in Old Town Orange with his wife and their daughter and son. Continue reading
The Philharmonic Society donates $10K of instruments to Carr Intermediate
Santa Ana Unified School District, Press Release
Philharmonic Society Donating $10,000 Worth of Musical Instruments to Carr Intermediate Music Program
THE EVENT: The Orange County Philharmonic Society is donating musical instruments, music method books, and supplies worth $10,000 to Carr Intermediate School’s music program. The event will kick off with a few musical selections by the Valley High School Band followed by a presentation of the instruments from the Philharmonic Society. Budding student musicians will have an opportunity to test out the brand new instruments that they will utilize in their music programs. Continue reading
Watch a Kilson St. local web series at the Fiesta Twin Theatre tonight
Tonight’s Downtown Santa Ana Art Walk is starting early with the Kilson St. Local Web Series Showcase, at 6 pm, at the OC Film Fiesta, at the Fiesta Twin Theatre in Santa Ana, located at 305-100 E. 4th St.
Kilson Street is a locally-produced web series about the Santa Ana music scene, presenting music acts from So. Cal. and eventually from around the Globe. Also included: skits, random vids of random stuff. Recorded in lovely Santa Ana, CA. Continue reading
OC Film Fiesta kicks off Sept. 6 on Santa Ana’s historic 4th St.
City of Santa Ana, Orange County’s Downtown
Community Alert: OC Film Fiesta Kicks Off Sept. 6 on Santa Ana’s Historic 4th St
Free Fest Opens With “Mariachi Gringo” Starring Lila Downs and Shawn Ashmore
SANTA ANA, CA (September 5, 2013) – The 4th Annual OC Film Fiesta opens Fri., Sept. 6 at 7pm with a free screening of Tom Gustafson’s award-winning cross-cultural musical tour de force, Mariachi Gringo, at the Fiesta Twin Theatres on Santa Ana’s historic 4th Street. Mariachi Gringo, which received Best Mexican Feature and Best Actress awards at the 2012 Guadalajara Film Festival, stars Shawn Ashmore (X-Men), Grammy-award winning singer Lila Downs, Martha Higareda, Tom Wopat and Yareli Arizmendi (Like Water for Chocolate, A Day Without a Mexican). Arizmendi will be present for the screening. The Fiesta Twin Theatres are located at 305-100 E. 4th St. in downtown Santa Ana. Continue reading
Call for Artists – Plaza Santa Ana Community Mural
Call for Artists – Plaza Santa Ana Community Mural We invite you to take part as an artist on the Plaza Santa Ana Community Mural! The WCA is working with local artists, youth, business, residents, The Grain Project, and the City of Santa Ana, who are all coming together to create a beautiful community mural in Downtown Santa Ana. We are seeking artists who would like to volunteer to take part. Send us an application to let us know you’re interested! Continue reading
Should Santa Ana’s Cinco de Mayo and Fiestas Patrias be run by volunteers?
Did you know that Santa Ana’s popular Cinco de Mayo and Fiestas Patrias festivals used to be run by local businessmen and volunteers? That was before the City of Santa Ana decided to hire a promoter, MX Live, to run these events.
But is MX Live really doing a good enough job to justify this corporate takeover? Check out their website,their Facebook Page and the City’s website, and you will find that there is no mention of this year’s Fiestas Patrias, which are coming up in mid-September – just a few weeks from now. What gives? Continue reading
Free showcase by the Taiwu Children’s Ancient Ballads Troupe on 8/27
The Taiwu Children’s Ancient Ballads Troupe, with Daniel Ho, will be presented in a free educational showcase on Tuesday, August 27, 2013, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.
“To & From The Heart” promises to be an inspiring and rewarding program that revives the Taiwanese indigenous culture through music. To the children, the songs are like an umbilical cord linking them to their ancestors, and now they are proudly introducing their cultural heritage to the world through their pure and earthly voices. Continue reading
Restored Metropolis to be screened to benefit Frida Cinema on 9/7
Metropolis Live Score Benefit Screening
Join OC Film Fiesta and the upcoming Frida Cinema on Saturday, September 7, 2013, as we team with a talented collective of local musicians to breathe new life into one of cinema’s most groundbreaking and enduring classics – Fritz Lang’s 1927 science-fiction masterpiece, METROPOLIS.
We are very excited to screen the fully-restored, 145-minute Kino version of Metropolis at this special event. Recently completed and remastered after 25 minutes of lost footage was unearthed in a museum in Argentina, Metropolis tells the tale of a dystopian future where humans are divided into two groups: the citizens, who celebrate a thriving economy and idyllic surroundings in a towering city above, and the workers, who toil and slave in the dismal factories below. When a citizen of Metropolis uncovers the truth about the plight of the workers, it sets in motion a stirring tale of revolution, love, identity, and the power of human will. Continue reading
Local artist Scott Keltic Knot to release new music video on 8/25
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Local artist Scott Keltic Knot to release new music video!
August 25, 2013, 6:00 – 9:00pm El Centro Cultural de México 313 N. Birch St. Santa Ana, CA 92701
SANTA ANA – “No human being is ‘illegal’” is the chorus to Scott Keltic Knot’s latest music video. Outraged at the increasing militarization of the border, criminalization of migrants, and the punitive versions of “immigration reform,” Scott’s message defiantly demands universal equality for all humans. Continue reading
OC Film Fiesta to feature stars of Mariachi Gringo, on Sep. 6, in Santa Ana
The 4th Annual OC Film Fiesta Opening Night Celebration with MARIACHI GRINGO starring Lila Downs and Shawn Ashmore, is set for Friday, September 6, 2013, at 7 pm, at the Fiesta Twin Theatre in Downtown Santa Ana, located at 305 E. 4th St.
Invite all your friends to this special Free Screening of MARIACHI GRINGO starring Lila Downs and Shawn Ashmore (X-Men) to kick off the 4th OC Film Fiesta in Santa Ana! She is the Winner of Best Mexican Feature and Best Actress, 2012 Guadalajara Film Festival. Continue reading
Survivors Strut Fashion Show set for 8/22 at the Essex Skyline
The Third Annual Survivor Strut Fashion Show, benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, is set for August 22, 2013, from 6 pm until 9 pm, at Santa Ana’s Essex Skyline, located at 15 MacArthur Place.
Fashion and fundraising collide in this year’s 3rd Annual Survivor’s Strut Fashion Show! They’ll be showcasing some of the areas best designers, top restaurants and adult beverages.
The areas top models along with cancer survivors will be debuting high fashion along the runway. Continue reading
DACA Art Show Fundraiser for local artist Carlos Mendoza set for 8/16
Carlos Mendoza is a recent high school graduate from Anaheim High School, and is an incredibly talented artist. He has participated in various art workshops, entered art contests and has been recognized for his artistry in the community.
Please join us in celebrating his talent as well as fundraise for his DACA (Deferred Action for childhood Arrivals) application. Join us for a night of art, food, drinks, friends and fun, on Friday, August 16, 2013, at 6 pm, at 2212 N. Main St. #1, in Santa Ana. Continue reading