Parade Caps Celebration of Mexican Culture

Folkloric dancers, marching bands, cowboys on horseback and Mexican statesmen filed down the streets of Santa Ana on Sunday past more than 70,000 spectators in a belated celebration of Mexican Independence Day.

The parade capped a weekend of festivities that drew several dignitaries from Mexico to the city, including Michoacan Gov. Lazaro Cardenas Batel, Yucatan Gov. Patricio Patron Laviada and the mayor of Sahuayo, Michoacan, Rafael Ramirez.

The event was sandwiched by others also celebrating Mexican culture in a city where 75% of the residents speak Spanish.

On Friday, the Delhi Community Center, a nonprofit organization serving the Latino community, officially opened a small museum and crafts shop dedicated to Mexican folk art. The center renamed its courtyard Plaza de Arte.

And Sunday night, Mexican consul Luis Miguel Ortiz Haro offered the traditional call to independence at Flower and 4th streets, shouting “¡Viva Mexico!”

The parade honored Mexican independence nine days late because of a struggle among community leaders over the control of various events. Two other festivals celebrating the Sept. 16 holiday took place last week: a celebration at the Delhi Community Center and a street fair. The controversy, however, did not seem to affect participation nor discourage people from going to Sunday’s parade, which stretched from Main Street to Civic Center Drive, with spectators lining the streets.

The spectacle drew city residents and participants from as far away as Baja California, as well as city officials including Santa Ana Unified school board Vice President Rob Richardson riding in an antique car and Mayor Miguel A. Pulido sitting atop a city firetruck.

Even Mickey Mouse showed up from nearby Disneyland.

Other marchers represented Mexican states with costumes, horses, floats and dancers typifying the cultures of their regions.

“This is an amazing event because of its sheer size,” said Sergio Hernandez, whose band Mariachi Trompetas de Mexico came from Rialto to play in the parade aboard a float from the state of Coahuila.

Among the band members were his sons, Eduardo and Sergio. “I want my sons to see this, to participate and to be touched by their Mexican roots,” he said.

The Colima Federation, which includes area residents who hail from Colima state, created a float showing that region’s traditional dance featuring performers dressed like clay figures, including 14 children, ages 6 to 8, wearing clay-colored felt costumes and tan stockings.

“It’s a lot of work to put this together, but it’s worth it,” said Alejandro Chavez, who organized the float sponsored by Benjamin Mendoza, a Santa Ana body-shop owner and Colima native. “We want to show what Colima and Mexico are all about.”