A Second Chance for Downtown Street Fest

Don’t expect to see the big names hyped by the organizers of L.A. Fiesta Broadway at the 10-block long street festival downtown on Sunday. Linda Ronstadt, the pop singer Martika, Vikki Carr and the steamy Brazilian singer XuXa, all touted for this celebration of Latino culture and pre-Cinco de Mayo bash, won’t be making Broadway debuts this weekend.

“Maybe we were a little too excited about the big names at first,” said Alma Ayon, talent coordinator for L.A Fiesta Broadway, expected to be the biggest block party L.A. has ever seen with more than 60 musical acts, food, arts and crafts; it runs from noon to 8 p.m. and will attract an expected 500,000 people. Ayon said the big stars were contacted and expressed interest, but it took the festival a while to get a permit from the city, and when the permit came through the big acts had booked other engagements.

It took time to get the permit, Ayon said, because L.A. Fiesta Broadway is a successor to the ill-fated Street Scene, “and the city was wary at first.” L.A. Fiesta Broadway will be the first street fair on Broadway since the Street Scene in 1986, also a musical celebration. That festival broke out into a riot, in which people were stabbed and one person was shot to death.

“This is a building year for us,” said Mario Proenza III, the show’s producer. “The Street Scene left a black mark that we’re going to overcome. We’re hoping to start a major festival in L.A. held every year. And a lot of Latino performers did want to be a part of the spirit of this; they wanted to be a part of history.”

So do expect to see some of the greats in Latino music on the seven stages at intersections from 1st to 10th on Broadway, stars representing Mexico, Latin America, Spain and Los Angeles’ Latino community.

The biggest draw in the festival: Lola Beltran, the legendary ranchero singer with a worldwide following, known for her ballads about nature and love. “We have named her ‘queen of the festival,’ ” Ayon said. “And she’ll be a big surprise to many, because she came through just last week.”

Said Emilio Nicolas, general manager of the $1.3-million fiesta’s co-sponsor, Spanish-language station KMEX Channel 34: “Lola Beltran is so big she replaces everybody who dropped out.”

Beltran heads a list of Latino superstars, ranging from the so-called “Prince of Salsa” Luis Enrique, salsa king Willy Chirino, Argentinian rock star Miguel Mateos, the sultry singer from Mexico, Alejandra Guzman, to famed L.A.-based mariachi groups including Mariachi Sol de Mexico.

Along with the pop, Spanish rock and lively salsa beat on Broadway, will be heard more traditional Mexican folkloric sounds, highlighting the fiesta’s cultural theme.

The high-profile acts will be on the fiesta’s high-profile stages located at both ends of Broadway. The Univision network stage is at 1st, and affiliate KMEX Channel 34 stage is at 9th. On these two stages Univision will tape a special to be aired on the Cinco de Mayo weekend to more than 400 Univision affiliates around the world, according to Nicolas. It will be seen in 14 Latin American countries.

“L.A. is the entertainment capital of the world, but when it comes to Hispanic entertainment, the country, the world doesn’t know we exist. We want to awaken people to what’s going on here in terms of Hispanic entertainment,” Nicolas said. “The TV specials will do that.”

A local special will be taped on the KMEX stage. A headliner will be Maria de Lourdes, a well-known Mexican ranchero singer. KMEX will also do live cut-ins all day Sunday on Channel 34, featuring the acts on various stages.

Beltran will be the belle of Broadway on the Univision stage, but she also serves as a symbol for the fiesta. “It’s symbolic because she used to play L.A. on Broadway in the theaters in her heyday. It will be a coming back for her, and it will say good things about what can happen on Broadway,” said Proenza.

The revitalization of Broadway is a key to the fiesta; all proceeds will go to Miracle on Broadway, a nonprofit group dedicated to restoring the street, which is called the busiest Latino shopping street in the country.

If variety is the spice of life, then the menu of performers on Broadway will be like a dose of extra picante hot sauce. On the Univision stage alone, the band Garibaldi will mix traditional and modern Mexican rhythms, Beatriz Adriana will sing Mexican pop love songs and the local band Rudy Regalado will play its brand of infectious salsa music.

“Pa, pa, pa . . . I want to hear the people in the streets clapping to the salsa beat,” Regalado said in anticipation of the fiesta. “I want them to dip their fingers right in it and devour, like the salsa you eat.”

Ayon said that although 95% of the acts are in Spanish, this should not alienate a non-Spanish speaking audience.

In fact, Nicolas hopes it will attract them. “We want non-Hispanic people to give this street a shot,” he said. “The focus is Mexican-American, but the event itself will be an open house.”