Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Santa Ana's top news & views blog

Tag Archives: mexican independence

The Santa Ana Fiestas Patrias Parade starts at 4 pm and will be on TV on Channel 31

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Entertainment, Latinos, mexico, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Fiestas Patrias Parade

The Santa Ana Fiestas Patrias Parade is set for today, Sunday, Sep. 14, 2014, at 4 pm.  It is being televised by the Santa Ana Unified School District’s TV channel 31, which is available on Time Warner Cable and AT&T U-verse.

Why would the parade be televised?  Simple.  Elected officials are allowed to ride in this parade.  Their political opponents are not.  The SAUSD is televising the parade in order to promote SAUSD Trustee John Palacio, who is running for reelection.  I will be surprised if his fellow SAUSD candidate and ally, Valery Amezcua, is not in the car with him. Continue reading→

Celebrating Mexican independence at the Colonization Fair?

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Latinos, mexico, Santa Ana 10 Comments

Mexican Independence?

If you don’t know who Theo Hirsch is, then you’re missing out on one of Downtown Santa Ana’s most compelling artists – a guy who is creative not only with visual arts but also with written and spoken words and with music.  Hirsch has his own blog and while he doesn’t post to it very often, when he does it usually means he has something to say.

The other day I got an email from Hirsch about a new post he had been working on.  That post is now done.  It  looks like he drew inspiration from the recent Fiestas Patrias event held in Downtown Santa Ana, ostensibly in celebration of Mexican Independence. A word of warning, like the great comedian George Carlin, may he rest in peace, Hirsch likes to sprinkle his posts with lots of expletives.  Here are a few excerpts: Continue reading→

Sarmiento and Benavides squirm as Pulido shines at a memorable El Grito

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Elections, Latinos, mexico, Michele Martinez, Miguel Pulido, music, Politics, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 28 Comments

Until last night I had never attended the “El Grito” event at Santa Ana’s annual Fiestas Patrias.  Who knew I was missing out on an unbelievable spectacle?

Thousands of Mexican Americans filled Santa Ana’s Fourth Street, facing a huge stage at the end of the street, near the Northgate Market.  A moderator introduced our city’s leaders at 8 pm, as Mayor Miguel Pulido and his family took the stage, along with Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez and traitorous Council Members Vince Sarmiento and David Benavides.  The latter is running against Pulido in November and Sarmiento is supporting him. Continue reading→

Fiestas Patrias event in Santa Ana set for Sep. 15 and 16

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Entertainment, Food, Latinos, music, Santa Ana 5 Comments

CALLE CUATRO FIESTAS PATRIAS 2012 COMMERCIAL BOOTHS AND SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA ANA, CA (Aug 22, 2012)- The 34th annual Calle Cua­tro Fes­ti­val, a two day cel­e­bra­tion com­mem­o­rat­ing Mexico’s inde­pen­dence, will take place at the famous Calle Cua­tro, 4th street, in Santa Ana on Sept 15th and 16th from 11am-10pm. MX LIVE Enter­tain­ment along with the City of Santa Ana along and Exi­tos 93.9 are pro­duc­ing the fes­ti­val which is con­sid­ered the biggest Mex­i­can inde­pen­dence day cel­e­bra­tion in the world out­side of Mex­ico. It will include live music and pre­sen­ta­tions by Latin Grammy and Bill­board Per­form­ing Artists. In pre­vi­ous years the crowd has enjoyed per­for­mances by Fobia, Gus­tavo Galindo, Ozomatli, Ceci Bastida, and more. Fies­tas Patrias also fea­tures a free 2 hour parade, fes­ti­val food, beer gar­den, car­ni­val rides and games, and com­mu­nity entertainment. Continue reading→

Exclusive video of this year’s Santa Ana’s Fiestas Patrias Parade

Posted on by Posted in 2010 Elections, Arts and Culture, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Democratic Party, immigration, Independence, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Latinos, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, mexico, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento, Working Families Leave a comment

Yesterday’s Fiestas Patrias parade, in Santa Ana, was perhaps the best one yet.  A huge crowd lined Main St., many in folding chairs.  Kids blew on horns and waved Mexican flags.  You could feel the fervor in the air.  They were all there to celebrate two hundred years of Mexican independence.

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido rode in a stagecoach provided by Wells Fargo, along with his fellow Grand Marshal, Mexican Consul Alejandra García Williams.

Santa Ana Council Members Vincent Sarmiento, David Benavides and Carlos Bustamante were there, riding in cars in the parade, as was Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez.

Also in the parade were Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, State Senator Lou Correa, Assemblyman Jose Solorio, and Supervisor Janet Nguyen.

The parade featured high school bands, the Santa Ana ROTC, caballeros on horseback, cultural organizations – displaying Ballet Folklorico and Native dances (in full costume) and representatives from many Mexican states.  It was quite a spectacle.

I had to take two separate videos.  Part one is above and part two is below.  You can see many of the politicians in part two, but the local electeds are in part one.  Click here to see more pictures I took at the event.

Pictures taken at the Santa Ana Fiestas Patrias Parade

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Carlos Bustamante, Civic Affairs, Claudia Alvarez, David Benavides, Janet Nguyen, Jose Solorio, Latinos, Loretta Sanchez, Lou Correa, mexico, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento, Working Families Leave a comment

Click here to see our exclusive videos taken at the Santa Ana Fiestas Patrias Parade.

The Fiestas Patrias Parade in Santa Ana today was a huge success.  Massive crowds lined Main St. as a procession of politicians, high school bands, cultural organizations and representatives of many Mexican states marched by.  Included also were many participants on horseback.  It was quite a show!

Those in attendance showed a lot of appreciation for the participants.  They enthusiastically applauded when many of the politicians passed by.  Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez got the biggest ovation.  She literally ran by as she shook a lot of hands.  State Senator Lou Correa walked by as well, shaking hands and speaking to his many fans.

Other politicians who were warmly welcomed included Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, and Council Members Claudia Alvarez, Vincent Sarmiento, and David Benavides.  Carlos Bustamante was also in the parade.  Sal Tinajero could not be there as he had to fly to a high school debate tournament yesterday.

In contrast, Republican Supervisor Janet Nguyen was barely welcomed as she zipped by in a car that appeared to be driven by her husband, Garden Grove Planning Commissioner Tom Bonikowski.

I did shoot several videos.  They are uploading now.  I hope to have them up by tomorrow.

City of Santa Ana votes to organize and produce 2010 Fiestas Patrias

Posted on by Posted in Arts and Culture, Civic Affairs, Entertainment, Latinos, Santa Ana 3 Comments

Lou Correa interviewed at the Fiestas Parade

State Senator Lou Correa and friends walk in the Fiestas Parade

“The City Council voted last week to organize and produce official Fiestas Patrias gatherings in town next year, including a signature two-day festival that draws more than 200,000 visitors to the downtown area every September,” according to the O.C. Register.

The Fiestas Patrias will be quite special next year – “Fall 2010 marks two important milestones for our neighbor to the south: 200 years of independence from Spain and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.”

While the City of Santa Ana won’t be spending money on the event, they will be working hard to ensure that the event goes off smoothly without any problems. Continue reading→