Viva Mexico Festival Strives for Maximum Macarena Momentum

If the Guinness Book of World Records overlooks Sunday’s Viva Mexico Festival, it won’t be for lack of attendance.

The turnstiles counted about 75,000 revelers at South El Monte’s Whittier Narrows Recreational Area by the time they put on the Latin pop hit, “Macarena.”

The only question left: How many attendees actually got on their feet and joined in the famous line dance?

According to the folks at Guinness, the record for the most people dancing together was set Aug. 17 at Dodger Stadium, when 48,000 joined in the simple, arm-swaying, hip-swinging dance that has tickled nightclubbers and senior citizens alike.

A deejay from Spanish-language radio station KLVE-FM (107.5), which co-sponsored the music festival with McDonald’s, played the tune three times in an effort to get everyone dancing for the camera. A clear photo is one of several pieces of evidence that must be sent to Stamford, Conn., for inspection by Guinness officials.

“Que bailen! Que bailen!” deejays called out into the audience. “Dance! Dance!”

But for all the replays and repeated lessons--several clumsily delivered by Ronald McDonald himself--many found themselves watching the spectacle rather than taking part in it.

“It was a very bad idea,” said Blanca Silva, 14, who drove from Tustin with several friends. When it came time for the Macarena, they said they were too frustrated to dance.

“Nobody else was dancing,” said Silva’s 14-year-old friend, Erika Frausto. “We’re angry because there are so many people and we can’t see anything.”

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But not far from Silva and her friends, hospital clerk Lupe Villanueva decided to do the Macarena even though she couldn’t see the stage. Her style was part line dance, part freestyle boogie.

“I think if you’re having a good time, you don’t have to do it perfectly,” said the 32-year-old Bell resident. Besides, Villanueva added, “Even if you can’t see the stage, most people have seen the dance before.”

Oscar Alfaro, 25, of El Segundo agreed.

“I think everybody might have danced,” said Alfaro, sitting near the back of the event field where he could hardly see the stage but saw plenty of dancing.

“With the Hispanic people,” he said, “you feel the music inside you, especially on days like this, because this is [Mexican] Independence Day.”

Indeed, the occasional cheer of “Viva Mexico!” was a reminder that the event was among a number of celebrations held to honor Mexican Independence Day.

(Late Sunday, the official Los Angeles commemoration of the Mexican holiday took place on the steps of City Hall. The ceremony marked the 186th anniversary of Father Miguel Hidalgo’s famous “El Grito de Dolores”--the cry for freedom that launched Mexico’s fierce, 11-year battle for independence from Spain.)

For many, the Sunday festival will be remembered for dozens of commercial booths promoting everything from shoes to videotapes on learning English.

But by far the biggest commotion occurred just after 2 p.m. when Enrique Iglesias, son of famous Latin singer Julio Iglesias, arrived by helicopter at the park.

In fact, Iglesias attracted so much attention--and led to many spectators abandoning the rest of the musical lineup when he left--that some thought he should have led the Macarena.

So said Tecate beer model Lori Carbajal, one of several dancers who had helped coax the audience to its feet during the Macarena.

Waiting backstage for a glimpse of Iglesias, Carbajal said she was almost ready to jump on stage with the heartthrob himself.

“I should go up there and do [the Macarena] with him,” said the model. “I bet then everybody will really be doing it.”