BIENVENIDOS: Today is Cinco de Mayo, a...
BIENVENIDOS: Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day Mexican-Americans celebrate their heritage and commemorate a key date in Mexican history. (A5) . . . About 20% of Orange County residents told the U.S. Census in 1990 they were of Mexican heritage, and the number seems to be growing. However, Orange County, which was the No. 3 U.S. destination for Mexican immigrants in 1992, fell to No. 6 in 1993, immigration officials say. Why the drop? The recession, says Chapman University economist Esmael Adibi: “There aren’t as many jobs.”
CONSULAR ART: Santa Ana, the county seat and the heart of the Mexican-American community here, is also home to the local Mexican Consulate, one of nine such government offices in California representing Mexican citizens and their interests. . . . It is observing Cinco de Mayo by exhibiting the works of 22 contemporary artists from the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. “We want people to know our art, our culture and the diversity of Mexican expression,” says Mexican Consul Felipe Soria.
EL REY: El Vez, the “Mexican Elvis” who will perform today at Cal State Fullerton (F2), says he’s got lots of material to choose from. “I don’t feel restricted in any way,” says Robert Lopez, who is El Vez. “There’s so much in the Elvis catalogue. . . . Then you take the whole Mexican idea.” Lopez is one of dozens of musicians performing throughout the county in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. “It’s a California product,” he says of his act, “with mixing and melding and blending the way Californians do.”
BUSY: Besides El Vez, there’s a host of celebrations scheduled today and on through the weekend. (OC Live!) On the calendar: a street festival in Santa Ana and a dance festival at UCI today. Saturday, there’s a fiesta in San Clemente and another in San Juan Capistrano. . . . “It’s an emphasis on youth,” says San Juan Capistrano’s Maricella Moreno, talking about the festival at the library near the mission.
Mexican Heritage
Orange County cities with the highest percentage of residents claiming Mexican heritage: Santa Ana: 60% Anaheim: 31% La Habra: 30% Stanton: 28% Placentia: 21% Source: U.S. Census
