A Fiesta of Music : Solana Beach Festival Focus Is Ethnicity

At a time when America’s melting pot would seem to be showing a few cracks, Solana Beach’s 13th annual “Fiesta del Sol,” to be held Saturday and Sunday, promises to re-emphasize the positive aspects of multiculturalism.

Organizers of the coastal community’s official summer kickoff have even made ethnic diversity the basis of this year’s theme: “One Under the Sun.”

More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the free weekend soiree. Most activities will be held in a blocked-off area west of Highway 101, from Plaza Street (the western continuation of Lomas Santa Fe Drive) down to the beach. Festivities begin Saturday at 11 a.m. with a parade that will travel north on a cordoned-off stretch of Highway 101, from Via de la Valle to Lomas Santa Fe. The fiesta concludes Sunday at 8:30 p.m. with a performance by the local African-music band, Bitoto.

The schedule of events for both days includes surfing competitions, an arts and crafts fair, and organized games for children. Both the parade and the fiesta are sponsored by the Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce and the city of Solana Beach.

A disparate collective of community-minded participants will strive to make this year’s fiesta live up to its theme. In his role as director of live entertainment, for example, Belly Up Tavern proprietor Dave Hodges emphasized diversity in booking 14 area musical groups to perform on the Fiesta del Sol stage, located in the Fletcher Cove parking lot.

Though the artists might lack the national and international renown of those who perform at the Michelob Street Scene every summer, they exemplify a spicy multiplicity reminiscent of that downtown event. The music--which will run from noon to 8:30 p.m. each day--includes Dixieland, blues, jazz, country-Western, traditional Mexican, Caribbean steel-band, Texas boogie, reggae, rock, Latino R&B;, Mariachi, African “soukous,” and even performances by some high-school “air bands.”

A variety of food vendors will ensure that the edible fare, too, offers a range of ethnic tastes--from Asian and Mexican dishes to bratwurst and chili, from pancakes, hot dogs, and hamburgers to pizza and fish tacos. Although no alcohol will be allowed on the premises, a beer garden will be available for those over 21.

The scope, organization, and relative sophistication of this year’s model are far removed from the first Fiesta del Sol, held on Nov. 2, 1980, and attended by about 2,000 people. At that inaugural event, the “entertainment” included a guy in a Shamu costume, and something called a “Fin and Taco Race,” during which participants ran a relay-race on the beach while wearing swim fins and goggles and eating tacos.

At the time, it was Solana Beach’s best answer to successful events that for years had been presented by neighboring communities, namely, Del Mar Days, Encinitas’ Flower Festival, and the We Love Cardiff Days. Ironically, those other events no longer exist, while the Fiesta del Sol has become North County’s second largest annual outdoor event (to the Del Mar Fair).

Some, of course, will be unable to resist smirking at the notion of a “multicultural” event taking place in Solana Beach, whose stereotyped image as a quiet haven for blond surfers and upper-middle-class (mostly white) homeowners hardly mirrors the demographics of your average inner-city. Although the Eden Gardens barrio is part of Solana Beach, the city itself would seem to have much more in common with the white-bread enclaves of Rancho Santa Fe to the east and Del Mar to the south.

However, a spokeswoman for the Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that one objective of the “One Under the Sun” theme is to promote the integration of the community, which, she claims, includes not only Eden Gardens but several smaller pockets of ethnicity. Considering the less-positive alternatives to such an effort, the Fiesta del Sol would seem a good enough place to start.

To reach the Fiesta del Sol site, take Lomas Santa Fe Drive west from Interstate 5. Limited parking is available in two public lots on South Sierra Avenue, south of the fiesta area. No glass, alcohol, skateboards or dogs will permitted on the site itself. For more information, call the Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce at 755-4775.

Fiesta’s Performer Line-Up

This is a schedule of live entertainment at the 13th annual Fiesta del Sol. All listed performers will appear on the same stage, located in the Fletcher Cove parking lot (at the western most tip of Lomas Santa Fe Drive), in Solana Beach.

Saturday

1 p.m. Chicago Six (Dixieland jazz)

2:10 p.m. Nutty Buddies (American hit-parade standards, from the 1930s to the 1960s)

3:20 p.m. Prairie Fire (traditional country-Western)

4:10 p.m. Ballet Folklorico Chiquitines (traditional music and dance of Old Mexico)

4:40 p.m. San Diego Steel Band (Virgin Island steel-drum music)

5:50 p.m. Cross Culture (reggae-rock)

7:15 p.m. Crawlin’ King Snakes (Texas-style blues-rock)

12:30 p.m. Ed Reed and the Riverboat Five (traditional/Dixieland jazz)

Sunday

1:40 p.m. The Bob Long Band (bop, boogie, and jazz) 2:30 p.m. Ballet Folklorico Playa del Sol (traditional music and dance of Old Mexico)

3 p.m. Candye Kane and the Swingin’ Armadillos (Southwestern swing, country, blues and R&B;)

4:10 p.m. The Blazers (Latino R&B;)

5:20 p.m. Los Adventureros (Mariachi)

6:30 p.m. Bitoto (African “soukous” music)