FIESTA TIME : Latino Culture, Heritage on Display at 10th Annual La Jamaica Festival

Salsa and mariachi music, folk dance, pinata-making demonstrations, a bilingual children’s operetta and delectable Mexican edibles all will be offered at the 10th annual La Jamaica festival at Santa Ana’s Bowers Museum on Saturday from 2 to 9 p.m.

The colorful folk life fiesta, pronounced la ha-MY-ka, showcases the cultural contributions that people of Mexican descent have made in Southern California. It is designed to preserve traditional arts and promote greater understanding and appreciation of Latino culture, and admission is free.

“Our desire is to promote our heritage and culture, not only to the Hispanic community, but to the community as a whole,” said Elodia Swenson, president of the museum’s Mexican-American Arts Council, which is organizing the event.

Typically, between 2,500 and 4,000 people attend La Jamaica, which this year is part of Artes de Mexico, one of two concurrent Mexican festivals involving hundreds of events to be held throughout Southern California from September through December.

About 15 La Jamaica artists and craftspeople will show their wares and give demonstrations. Among the items to be displayed will be wood carvings, papel picado (cut paper decorations), masks, pinatas and cascarones (decorated hollow eggs that are then filled with confetti). During village dances, girls crack the eggs over the heads of boys they want to dance with, a festival spokeswoman said.

Music and dance presentations, most taking place between 2 and 6 p.m., will feature Mariachi Continental musicians, Xipe Totec Aztec Dancers, Los Caramelos, performing Salsa music, Relampago del Cielo folk dancers, and the premiere of a new children’s operetta presented in English and Spanish by Opera Pacific’s Overture Company outreach troupe.

The 40-minute operetta, “Crisis in the Wetlands,” tells the environmentally themed story of how three animals--a heron, an owl and a frog--lead an effort to save a wetland area from developers who want to build a road through it. Children in the audience will be asked to sing on stage.

Other events on the agenda are a procession by Mexican Consulate officials in observance of el 16 de Septiembre, Mexican Independence Day. The march will honor el Grito de Dolores, Mexico’s Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s historic cry for freedom from Spanish colonial rule. Also, one young woman will be crowned “Queen of La Jamaica” for her beauty, talent and the amount of money she raises for nonprofit Latino community groups.

Tamales, handmade tortillas, sweetbreads and beverages will be sold at the festival, which is fashioned after a Mexican jamaica, an annual parish church fair held to raise funds. The name itself refers to the dark-red Jamaica drink made from hibiscus flowers common in Mexico. Funds from food sales at Saturday’s cultural celebration will benefit the Mexican-American Arts Council, which sponsors other educational events.

What: La Jamaica folk life festival.

When: Saturday, Sept. 7, from 2 to 9 p.m.

Where: Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, in the parking lot and surrounding museum grounds.

Whereabouts: Santa Ana (5) Freeway to Main Street exit; head south on Main about half a block.

Wherewithal: Admission is free.

Where to call: (714) 972-1900.