OC LIVE : SPECIAL EVENTS : Independence Observers Create Fiestas Large and Small

On a September day in 1810, a parish priest rallied Mexican villagers by ringing the church bell. But Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla wasn’t just calling his countrymen to Mass. The padre was sending out a cry for independence, launching a fight for freedom from Spanish rule that would last until 1821, when Spain finally granted Mexico independence.

At huge fiestas, simple back-yard barbecues and everything in between, Orange County’s residents will mark the day with music, dance, food and games.

But the celebration isn’t limited to Mexican history. Between Friday and Oct. 12, nine Latin American countries celebrate their independence from Spain. So the revelry continues throughout the county under the banner of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Here’s a look at a few of the events going on this month:

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Gran Fiesta de Independencia de Mexico: Big parties are no problem for Frank Garcia. For the past seven years, the Anaheim restaurateur has thrown what is probably the biggest free Thanksgiving dinner in the county, feeding an estimated 10,000 needy people per year at his La Casa Garcia restaurant.

This weekend, Garcia and his partner Manuel Gomez are at it again, but this time, they’re giving away fun.

The fiesta, at Centennial Regional Park in Santa Ana, kicks off Friday with a family carnival. Then on Saturday and Sunday, there will be a full slate of Mexican music, dance and games, all of it free. About 30 entertainers are scheduled to perform, many coming from across Mexico and the Southwest. The line-up features the band Ramon Ayala y Sus Bravos del Norte, as well as several mariachi bands and folklorico dance groups.

There will be lots of food, including tacos, tamales and a big menudo contest. Food and drink sales will help raise funds for local youth groups and schools. No alcohol or cigarettes will be sold.

“I wanted the schools to get in on this and make some money,” explained Garcia, father of five. “I’m real strong on education. I didn’t have one, but now it’s so easy. You just have to want to learn and to work at it.”

Several area high schools and colleges will have information booths at the fiesta.

As many as 75,000 people are expected to attend the first-time event, but Garcia doesn’t seem fazed.

“It’s a celebration,” he said with a laugh. “The sky’s the limit.”

At Centennial Regional Park, Edinger Avenue and Fairview Street, Santa Ana. Friday 3 to 10 p.m., Saturday noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday noon to 9 p.m. FREE. (714) 740-1108 or 891-1275.

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Fiestas Patrias de Independencia: In past years, this hugely popular Santa Ana event has attracted as many as 300,000 people and been telecast to an even bigger audience on Spanish-language television, but it was canceled last year because of a lack of corporate sponsorship. It’s back this weekend, but on a smaller scale.

Construction of the new federal court building has pushed most of the activities from that formerly vacant site onto Fourth Street, which will be closed to traffic for the event from Main to Mortimer streets. The parade, a highlight in past years, has been deleted.

Entertainment, though, will be as big as ever. Headliners will include Los Alegres de Teran and Banda del Carro Rojo. A carnival area will offer family rides and games.

On Sunday evening, civic and community leaders, along with visiting Mexican dignitaries, will host the traditional El Grito ceremony, in which revelers recall Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s call to arms with bell ringing, music and rebel yells.

In downtown Santa Ana, near Fourth and Main streets. Friday 4 to 10 p.m. (carnival only), Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. FREE. (714) 647-6556.

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Fiesta Mexicana ’95 Mariachi Festival and Taste of Mexico: Inter-Shows Motorsports Promotions is known for its car, motorcycle and water-sports shows, but on Sunday the company jumps south of the border with an inaugural family event that salutes the sounds and tastes of Mexico.

Headline entertainers include the internationally known Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose I.Hernandez, whose credits include concerts with singer Linda Ronstadt.

They will be joined on the Irvine stage at 3:30 p.m. by charo roper Tony Munoz. Youth mariachi groups will perform beginning at 11 a.m. Equestrians from Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament will present jousting matches and sword fights at 1:30 p.m.

For children, there will be a Mexican puppet theater and mask-making workshops, as well as booths where they can make (and smash) their own pinatas. Mexican artisans will demonstrate and sell their crafts, and visitors can buy food from vendors.

At Lion Country Center, Irvine Center Drive at the San Diego (405) Freeway. Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission $8, children 6 through 12 are $4, under 6 free. (714) 364-1804.

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Hispanic Heritage Day: Mimi Lozano Holtzman has traced her roots to King Ferdinand of Spain, but like most people, her heritage is a mixed bag.

“The more I researched my background, the more I realized that I am a world citizen,” Holtzman said. “Most of us are a mix, and if we just look at that from the broad perspective, I think we can dispel a lot of stereotypes.”

Celebration of our common ground is the purpose of Hispanic Heritage Day, a new event put on by the Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research, said Holtzman, its president. Set in Mission San Juan Capistrano, the event will feature local music and dance groups, exhibits, hands-on workshops and short lectures to give visitors a better appreciation for the multitude of cultures that formed early California history.

Crafts people will demonstrate iron working and wood carving typical of California’s early colonization period, and genealogy groups will help visitors trace their family ancestry. Fifteen-minute informal lectures led by descendants of the Juaneno Indians and early Spanish-speaking settlers will run continuously from 1 to 4 p.m.

At Mission San Juan Capistrano, off Interstate 5 at Ortega Highway. Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (performances and lectures start at 1 p.m.). Admission is free with mission entrance fee of $4, seniors and children 3-12 are $3, under 3 free. (714) 894-8161.

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Budweiser Festival: Don’t let the name throw you. Although it is sponsored by Budweiser, there won’t be a drop of brewsky sold at this day-long music festival in Fountain Valley. Just soft drinks and Mexican food.

The big draw here will be the popular dance music Banda . Groups presenting back-to-back concerts will include Industrial del Amor, Banda Maguey and Banda Pachuco.

Mile Square Regional Park, Warner and Edinger streets, Fountain Valley. Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. General admission $10, children 10 and under free. (714) 835-6391.

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“A Cultural Gathering of the Americas”: This three-hour Irvine concert will showcase indigenous music and dance of the Andes and North America, and include performances by Huayucaltia, a group that performs Andean music on traditional instruments with jazz and flamenco influences.

Other scheduled performers include Tenochtitlan Aztec dancers, Killaruna, and Alpaka & the Inca Dancers Ensemble. Proceeds help support the Santa Ana-based Beyond Limits, a nonprofit group that provides at-risk youth with cultural music workshops and excursions.

At Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. General admission $15; students, seniors and children 12 and under $10. (714) 854-4646 or (714) 830-6641.

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Visions of Guadalupe Celebration: This youth-oriented event in Santa Ana begins with a docent-led tour of the Bowers Museum’s new “Visions of Guadalupe” exhibit, which features art and religious artifacts from the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Completed in 1709, the basilica stands near the site where Juan Diego, an Indian converted to Christianity, was said to have been visited by apparitions of a dark-skinned Virgin Mary in 1531.

The exhibit tour will be followed by children’s candle-making workshops at 11 a.m., noon, 2 and 3 p.m. At 1 p.m., children will hear traditional and contemporary stories about the “Legend of the Lady of Guadalupe,” followed at 2 p.m. by an interactive music workshop.

At Kidseum at the Bowers, 1802 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission: Included with museum admission fee of $4.50 for adults, $1.50 for children under 12. (714) 567-3600.

* EVENTS LISTINGS, Page F21