Cinco de Mayo Events to Be Offered
Cinco de Mayo began as a commemoration of the May 5 Mexican defeat of French invaders in 1862. But for Mexican-Americans, the holiday has become a celebration of their heritage.
Although Cinco de Mayo is on Monday, thousands of Orange County residents will be celebrating early with food, carnivals, arts and live entertainment at the many activities planned for the weekend. All events are free except where noted. Among them are:
Anaheim--The city is sponsoring its 15th annual Cinco de Mayo Fiesta at La Palma Park, featuring carnival rides, food booths, and live entertainment and exhibitions on Saturday and Sunday from 4 p.m. until midnight.
Over the weekend, the carnival will be open from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. Mariachi bands, kung fu exhibitions, the introduction of the festival queen, and soccer and boxing tournaments.
The boxing tournament starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday and will be attended by boxers such as former welterweight champion Carlos Palomino and middleweight champion Tomas Perez.
Santa Ana--The Santa Ana Senior Center will host a Cinco de Mayo celebration today from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Men and women 55 and older are invited to stop by for authentic Mexican dishes and entertainment. The Senior Center is at 424 West 3rd St.
The Santiago Club is sponsoring a celebration Saturday and Sunday at Santa Ana Stadium, Civic Center Drive and Flower Street, featuring local and Mexican entertainers, food booths, carnival rides and, on Sunday, a menudo cook-off. Prizes for the cook-off will be awarded by Vice President George Bush.
Hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m, and winners of the menudo cook-off will be announced at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults, with proceeds going to charity.
San Juan Capistrano--At noon Saturday, the courtyard of the San Juan Capistrano Library will be filled with the sound of mariachi and other musical ensembles.
Cal State Fullerton--At 8 a.m. Monday, the Raza Youth Symposium opens with Aztec dancers, Chicano films and guest speakers at the University Center Amphitheater. Folklorico dancers will perform and at 2:30 p.m. the film “El Norte” will be shown.
On Tuesday, Contemporary Issues in the Chicano Movement will be the theme of the day. The program will start at noon at the campus quad and feature a keynote address by Jenaro Ayala, the national chairman of La Raza Unida political organization.
“Chicanas in Leadership” will be the theme for Thursday, May 8. The program will run from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the University Center Theater and feature Dr. Gloria Miranda of Los Angeles Valley College and Dolores Huerta, vice president of the United Farm Workers, speaking on their roles as Chicana leaders.
El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a Chicano student group, is organizing the events.
UC Irvine--On Monday, the UCI chapter of El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan will open a week of events at 5:30 p.m. in the University Center Heritage Room.
On Tuesday, Huerta will speak at 6:30 p.m. in the Heritage Room.
Mexican singer Jesus Negrete will perform a program entitled “Mexican Heritage in Song” at 7 p.m. in the Cross-Cultural Center.
The festivities will close next Friday with a display of Chicano artwork and poetry, speakers, music, dance and a car show.