Santa Ana : Benefit Concert to Aid Mexican Quake Victims

Organizers of a fund-raising concert for Mexican earthquake victims scheduled for Santa Ana Stadium on Sunday hope to raise about $80,000 to hand over to American Red Cross relief efforts.

The concert--to begin at 5 p.m.--will spotlight music from the ‘50s, including the Coasters, the Drifters, Joe Houston and Ronnie Mack. Additionally, Vietnamese singers Connie Kim and Hai Ly will perform in a cooperative gesture to the Latino community. Musician J. D. Hall also will perform, and appearances will be made by former welterweight boxing champion Carlos Palomino and various disc jockeys from Southern California radio stations.

Tickets priced at $10 are available at Ticketron, Cal State Fullerton, at the stadium on Sunday (when the gates will open at 3 p.m.) and at the Pena Referral Center, 1928 S. Flower St. For more information, call (714) 432-1325.

Organizer Cathy O’Campo, who said she has been working on the effort for about two months, noted that a concert last weekend featuring performers from the Vietnamese community raised about $7,500, about $2,500 of which will go toward liability insurance for Sunday’s show. The cooperative effort between the two ethnic groups is “the first . . . ever in Orange County for something on this scale,” she said.

Use of the stadium and police protection will be provided by Santa Ana, city spokeswoman Estella Gutierrez-Veloz said. Several other fund-raisers have been held in the county, including a dance and concert in downtown Santa Ana on Oct. 4 and a $100,000 effort by the local chapter of the United Way.

The Red Cross has raised more than $300,000 to help people injured or left homeless by the earthquakes that struck Mexico on Sept. 19 and 20, killing about 6,000 people.