Multiplex Plans Show 2 Pictures of San Fernando : Culture: City with Latino majority is split over whether to feature Spanish-language films or go mainstream Hollywood.

The selection of a developer for the city’s first multiplex could say a lot about what this mostly working-class Latino community thinks of itself and wants for its future.

One faction wants a theater complex that will feature Latino cinema, in an effort to encourage and perpetuate the culture of the city’s majority residents.

Another, representing a population that is largely second- and third-generation Latin American, wants mainstream American movie fare for themselves and their families.

Dozens of residents voiced their opinions after two developers presented their plans to revitalize the city’s downtown area. Both plans offer a multiplex with 10 to 15 screens, retail outlets and restaurants. One would offer American movie fare, the other would feature mainly Spanish-language films.

“Mainstream theater brings mainstream business,” said one resident Tuesday night at a public hearing on the issue that drew nearly 400 people. “I’m a Chicana, but no matter how good a Latino theater is, it’s not mainstream! We want mainstream in San Fernando!”

Another resident, a bilingual teacher at a local school, told the City Council that she would love having access to Latino films, but believes it’s not the best thing for San Fernando.

“Unfortunately, mainstream sells,” she said. “For me, an independent Latino theater would be great, but we need mainstream theaters with mainstream retailers.”

As the crowd cheered, another resident took the podium, this time in favor of the Latino-themed theater.

“It’s who we are,” he said. “It would be great.”

The crowd seemed evenly divided on the issue, which the City Council is scheduled to settle on Oct. 4 when it selects a developer.

Advocates for both sides campaigned for weeks and encouraged residents to attend Tuesday’s hearing at the San Fernando Recreation Center gym.

San Fernando-based Pueblo Contracting Services proposes to create a Latino-themed theater chain called Maya Cinema that would cater to underserved urban communities.

“It would be the first Latino theater chain, and we will bring San Fernando new releases and blockbuster hits as well as Latino movies and classics,” Pueblo Contracting Services President Martha Aszkenazy said in her presentation. “It will appeal to all parts of the community.”

Burbank-based developer Victor Georgino, who has built major theater and retail projects in Burbank and Ventura, said he would bring in the Sanborn theater chain.

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As of last May, the Newport Beach-based chain ranked No. 37 in the country, with 98 screens at 14 sites showing mainly Hollywood-produced movies.

“Both developments have strengths and both have weaknesses,” said San Fernando Administrator John Ornelas, who added that it may benefit the city to go with a plan that has worked elsewhere.

“For San Fernando this is a pioneering effort, and a pioneering concept could be like climbing a hill. Maybe we need to go with what has been successful in the past,” he said.

But Mayor Jose Hernandez believes the city needs to capitalize on its Latino roots.

“There are four so-called mainstream theaters within 10 minutes of San Fernando,” Hernandez said. “We have to think, how can we be different, or are we going to compete against those four theaters? We have to provide something different, something unusual.”