Wilmington Fiesta ‘has been going on for 9 years and people look forward to it.’

Wilmington is throwing itself a party this weekend, complete with carnival rides, mariachi music and food booths offering everything from homemade tamales to Thai delicacies and hot dogs.

The three-day Wilmington Fiesta begins today at 4 p.m. at Banning Park, culminating almost five months of work by more than 200 volunteers to organize and stage the celebration.

“The fiesta has been going on for nine years and people know about it and look forward to it,” said co-chairman Ray Madrigal. “There’s plenty of food and entertainment. People come to the fiesta and reacquaint themselves with old friends.”

Though the fiesta--Wilmington’s biggest celebration--is aimed at providing a weekend of fun, it has a serious purpose. It provides a means for more than 20 community service organizations to raise funds for their programs and activities.

“Aside from being a nice get-together for the community, it gives an opportunity for a lot of us to make money for our organizations,” said Connie Calderon, project director of the Wilmington Teen Center, which helps local youngsters--some of them gang members--through counseling, job opportunities and recreation.

The center, which started the fiesta as a fund-raiser, is the main beneficiary, and Madrigal said he hopes up to $20,000 will come into its coffers this weekend, largely through the admission charge, booth rentals and beer sales.

Other organizations bring in money through their booths, which offer games for kids and a large menu including Mexican carne asada and seafood, pizza, Chinese food and all-American hot dogs.

“We’re making sure there’s enough food,” said John Mendez, also a fiesta co-chairman. “Last year, everyone ran out early on Sunday.”

A host of business and community sponsors underwrites the $30,000 to $40,000 it costs to stage the fiesta so that money raised goes into community programs.

Madrigal said many of the volunteers who help with the festival are people who participated in teen center activities when they were youngsters. Said Madrigal: “They benefited from the center and they want to help out wherever they can.”

A menudo cook-off has been a hit at every fair, and organizers say this year should be no exception. Cooking in colorful booths Saturday, 10 to 15 contestants will create their own special versions of the traditional Mexican stew of tripe, hominy, onions, peppers and spices.

Cooks are required to provide 10 servings for judging, but they always have enough left over for fiesta-goers to sample. Madrigal said the cooks always have their own special--and secret--ways with menudo, varying the ingredients and spices.

“Some put in large pieces of meat and others don’t,” he said. “The spiciness of the soup really varies. Some are really hot and others are really bland.”

What pleases the palates of the judges on Saturday will be worth money for three of the cooks, with $500 going to the winner, $300 to the runner-up and $200 to the third-place finisher.

Singers, dancers and musicians will offer hours of entertainment Saturday and Sunday on two stages. Headlining the fiesta will be Yolanda del Rio, a Mexican singing star, and two mariachi groups--Los Camperos and Sol de Mexico--that perform with Linda Ronstadt and Vikki Carr.

Mendez said these are stars people would have to pay high prices to see in theaters or clubs. “Here,” he said, “they see them for $5,” the general admission price.

The Latin jazz sound of Poncho Sanchez will be heard, along with the band Tierra, which specializes in Latin-flavored rock ‘n’ roll. Also on the bill will be an “oldies but goodies” show and an appearance by radio personality Humberto Luna--billed as “the Mexican Rick Dees”--who will emcee some of Sunday’s show.

Wilmington’s own Ballet Folklorico Raices will be on hand to perform Mexican regional dances. Dressed in colorful costumes with ribbons, lace, sequins and full skirts, the youthful dancers--who range in age from 4 to 21--will have a repertoire including the famous Mexican hat dance, polkas from the northern Mexican ranch country and a light-hearted dance depicting jumping frogs.

Ballet director Catherine Rodriguez said the dances are rooted in Mexico’s culture and history, which she instills in the youngsters as she teaches them how to perform the dances.

The audience at the fiesta also will get some of this lore along with entertainment. Said Rodriguez: “We give the history of the dances to the audience. A lot of people don’t know about them.”