Faking It to the Streets : Pop music review: Because L.A.’s sixth Fiesta Broadway was taped for a national special, only a handful of musicians played live.

The sixth annual L.A. Fiesta Broadway on Sunday reaffirmed the event’s peaceful and family-oriented nature after last year’s melee-marred edition. One of the country’s largest free musical events drew about 300,000 to downtown’s Broadway district on Sunday, and this time the only problem was the way the music was presented.

One reason for the calm was a reduction in the number of stages from nine to five. But even though the 48-artist roster was considerably smaller than usual, this could have been the most varied and interesting L.A. Fiesta Broadway ever.

Artists ranging from salseros Celia Cruz, Ray Ruiz, Jesus Enriquez and Miles Pena to cumbia stars Sonora Dinamita and La Mafia to pop-rock en espanol Ropa Sucia to former rockera Angelica Maria (in an enjoyable banda set backed by Charanda Band, one of the many bandas featured) worked the stages along Broadway between Olympic and First.

Reggae crossover act Big Mountain was warmly welcomed in its Fiesta debut, and there were several popular representatives of the norteno and mariachi styles (most notably Mariachi Tlaquepaque, featuring violinist-singer Monica Alvarado, a future ranchera star), plus throwaway but mega-selling teen-age concoctions like the co-ed Garibaldi.

But again, television was the party pooper. As is the case every year, the fiesta was being taped for a special to be broadcast nationally by the Univision network later this year. And why should the producers make the effort to capture a real show when they can demand that the performers fake it?

Take Olga Tanon, for example. The Puerto Rican merengue sensation was making her Los Angeles debut and was the true queen of the afternoon. She is a powerful singer and a charismatic performer, but even though she brought along her top-notch 12-piece orchestra, she had to sing to the backing of recorded tracks while her musicians pretended to play. The trumpet players, visibly uncomfortable, were looking at each other after each “note.”

“Most of the artists are playing live, but it is very difficult for television to record live with so many artists,” said Mario Proenza, one of the fiesta organizers. As a result, only a handful of artists were able to actually offer a live concert.

Despite this year’s slight improvement in the lineup, L.A. Fiesta Broadway hasn’t evolved much over the years, and desperately needs a dose of imagination and musical integrity. Let’s have a party for the people, not for television.