Families, students, and community members packed the Santa Ana City Hall courtyard as the Ballet Folklorico Leyenda dance company, wearing large, variously colored feathered headpieces and tops with gems and jewels, performed a ritualistic Aztec dance to pounding drums. The seven musicians in the group Mariachi Folklore then performed as kids, munching on colorful conchas, jumped and danced to the music and parents yelped and cheered at the band.
Santa Ana hosted The Chicano Heritage Educational Celebration in collaboration with Santa Ana Library on Aug. 29 at city hall to commemorate the Mexican American community with traditional music and dancing and panel discussions from community leaders about the importance of preserving Chicano culture.
“I want to thank especially our library, our staff and our team and everyone coming out to learn about Chicano Heritage and celebrating here in Santa Ana,” said Mayor Pro Tem Thai Viet Phan.
This event marked the first time Santa Ana hosted an educational celebration after declaring August as Chicano Heritage Month three years ago, which the city was the first in the nation to do so.
The first of the two panels was held by Santa Ana Community College professor Angelina Veyna and Alexandro J. Gradilla of California State University, Fullerton. The pair presented the importance of honoring past generations, especially educators and documenting the Chicano experience in Orange County.
“When we say educators, we’re stretching it to mean our familia, our teachers, our counselors, people that fought for special programs that never get credit, and our friends that support us,” said Veyna.
Santa Ana is currently renovating both Main Library and New Hope Library while constructing two more libraries in Del High Park and Jerome Park to provide more documentation of Chicano history and educational resources for residents to study.
The last panel was held by Logan Crow, executive director and founder of The Frida Cinema, and freelance journalist Justina Bonilla to elaborate on the films that highlight often-looked diversity in Chicano communities, such as interracial families.
The date of the event, Aug. 29, was especially meaningful as it marked the 54th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium, the violent backlash that followed the protests and marches of Latinos in Los Angeles, in which LAPD officers killed LA Times journalist Ruben Salazar.
Wishing to keep Salazar’s legacy alive, Councilman Jonthan Hernandez wants to educate the current generation of the systematic discrimination and damage that had been brought upon the Chicano residents throughout Southern California.
Tables lined up around the courtyard offered giveaway prizes and games. Vibrant paintings of Chicano lifestyle during the mid-20th century, wall murals depicting family life, portraits of political unions formed by Chicano residents graced easels.
Hernandez also wants to remove the beige walling surrounding the city hall as it covers up Mesoamerican stylized etchings and carvings.
“Not many people know that these entrances were designed by a Chicano, Sergio O’Cadiz,” Hernandez explains. “The Mesoamerican style was an interpretation of Mexico in California. The architecture tells a compelling story that people didn’t even know existed.”
The event itself told a story as the courtyard bustled with people dedicated to preserving Chicano culture and making sure its history is not forgotten in Santa Ana.
“This event is the first of its kind ever in Orange County, [Santa Ana is] a city that is leading this conversation and helping facilitate it,” Hernandez stated.
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