September cover story: Hispanic Heritage Month comes to the 805 region

By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805

From the traditional “Grito de Dolores” to local beisbol history, salsa dance lessons, free mariachi concerts, classical Flamenco dance performances and a play focusing on the lives of three powerful Latinas — the 805 region has a number of events scheduled to honor Hispanic Heritage Month 2014 (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15).

Events actually begin early in the month when the Comité Cultural Mexicano presents the crowning of the Fiestas Patrias queen (“Cena-Gala de Coronación“) at a gala dinner from 5:30 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Sept. 6 at the Ventura Beach Marriott Hotel, 2055 E. Harbor Blvd., Ventura.

Participants were selected in August and have already taken part in the traditional dress competition held at Pacifica High School on Aug. 24. Participants this year who are representing various Mexican states include:

• Stephanie Gamboa — Yucatán
• Bianca Hernández — Colima
• Rebecca Fausto — Jalisco
• Yonelida Alamillo — Chiapas
• Jazmine Mauricio — Districto Federal
• Nallely Miranda — Zacatecas
• Itandehui Moralez — Puebla
• María Elena Cisneros — Durango
• María de la Luz Gutíerrez — Tlaxcala

There is a suggested donation of $60 for the gala dinner.

Other Fiestas Patrias events include:

• The Fiesta in the Plaza (“Fiesta en la Placita de Oxnard”) from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13; from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 and from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15 at Plaza Park in downtown Oxnard.
• The Fiestas Patrias 2014 parade (“Desfile Commemorativo”) at 11 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 on C Street in downtown Oxnard.
• The traditional Cry for Independence (“Grito de Independencia”) at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15 at Plaza Park in downtown Oxnard.

Sponsors this year include Lazer Broadcasting: KOXR 910 AM, La Mejor 96.7, Radio Lazer 102.9 FM; the Comité Cultural Mexicano; Vida Newspaper; El Consulado de México en Oxnard and Amigos805.

Call 805-217-0005 for more information.

• Activities will then move to the Museum of Ventura County when it presents its “Celebracion de Familia” from 2 to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 13 followed by its “Celebracion de Salsa!” from 6 to 11 p.m.

The Celebracion de Familia includes a mercado in the Pavilion featuring art and apparel and the opening of the exhibit “Beisbol: From the Barrio to the Big League.”

The exhibit tells the story of the Mexican baseball teams and leagues that were formed throughout the Central Coast, the museum reported in a media release. Teams included the Oxnard Aces, the Santa Paula Limoneros, the Golden State Dairy Team and the Camarillo Merchants; they helped to build a community amid the segregated landscape of 1930s California. This exhibit examines the love of the game by Mexican Americans in Ventura County and how the network of players went beyond camaraderie and leisure time to lasting friendships and success in the big leagues.

“Baseball brought together many Mexican families for a weekly outing before the days of radio and television. Whether you were a fan of the game or not, baseball in the barrio was a tradition,” Anna Bermudez, the Museum of Ventura County’s curator of collections, stated in the release.

In Ventura County, Mexican players were drawn from mutual aid organizations, churches and workplaces, with the games providing a break from the monotonous labor of agricultural fields and citrus groves while building integrated friendships and new traditions, the museum reported. Sunday became a day of religious services in the morning followed by an afternoon of baseball for families. Organizations started sponsoring teams, such as the Knights of Columbus and the merchants of each region.

Some of the players actually broke into the big leagues, such as Carlos Luis — called Charley — Hall, who was born in Ventura, learned to play with the Ventura Juniors baseball team before joining the Cincinnati Reds in 1904 and pitching for the 1912 World Champion Boston Red Sox.

Standing 6-foot-1 at 185 pounds with dark good looks, the young Charley Hall cut an imposing, often intimidating figure on the mound, pitching in two World Series games, the museum reported.

The exhibit will continue through Nov. 30. The cost of Celebracion de Familia and the opening day of the exhibit is $5 for general admission with children 12 and under free.

Following Celebracion de Familia, the museum will present Celebracion de Salsa! featuring the sounds of Ricardo Lemvo y Makina Loca – Afro-Cuban Salsa Orchestra The event includes tequila tasting, a taco stand, a mercado, exhibits, salsa lessons with La Maestra and dancing under the stars.

The cost for this separate event is $25 general admission, $35 for seated VIP admission, with private VIP tables available. Reservations can be made by calling 805-653-0323.

• California Lutheran University will present “Grito de Dolores: Celebrating Mexico’s Independence and Indigenous Roots” with a program featuring Xóchitl Flores-Marcial at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16.

She will lecture about the indigenous roots of Mexico’s history as they pertain to several key political individuals represented in a Mexican-American-themed mural currently on exhibit at the William Rolland Gallery of Fine Art at CLU.

Flores-Marcial, a guest scholar at the Getty Research Institute, will speak in the Lundring Events Center. To RSVP, send an email to rtschmid@callutheran.edu

• ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! will kick off its 2014-15 season with Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuellar in free concerts at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 at Isla Vista School, 6875 El Colegio Road, Goleta (805-893-5037); 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 at Guadalupe City Hall Auditorium, 918 Obispo St., Guadalupe (805-343-2939); and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 at the Marjorie Luke Theatre, Santa Barbara Jr. High, 721 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara (805-884-4087, ext. 7).

A mariachi workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18 at Franklin Elmentary School, 1111 E. Mason St., Santa Barbara (805-893-3382).

The group also will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 at the California Lemon Festival at Girsh Park in Goleta. The 12-member traditional mariachi band performs with special guest artists from Ballet Folklorico de Los Angeles.

• Hispanic Heritage Month concludes its first half with the 14th Annual Flamenco Arts Festival on Sept. 26-28. The festival features acclaimed Spanish flamenco artist Manuel Liñán and his production of Nómada (Nomad), with a pre-concert talk from 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27 at The Granada Theatre, 214 State St., Santa Barbara.

Liñán and his ten-member company of dancers, singers and guitarists will take to the Granada stage with a presentation that demonstrates how the dynamic patterns and rhythms of human migration have forever changed the human landscape — and in particular, the world’s cultural arts. For tickets, $28 to $88, call 805-899-2222 or visit granadasb.org.

A series of dance and guitar workshops also will be presented during the festival from Sept. 26 through 28 at Santa Barbara Dance Arts, 531 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara.

Send an email to info@flamencoarts.org or visit flamencoarts.org for more information.

• California Lutheran University will then present “Tres Vidas” with storylines featuring Frida Kahlo, Rufina Amaya and Alfonsina Storni at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10 at 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks in the Samuelson Chapel. Presented by CLU’s Chamber Music Theatre, the work marries theatrical narrative with chamber music. Actress Denise Estrada portrays multiple roles while interacting with the onstage musical trio of Ju Young Lee, cello; David Berry, piano; and Michael Parola, percussion. The event is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations are needed. Visit http://www.callutheran.edu/calendar/event/3253 for more information.

Keep visiting Amigos805 for the latest updates on Hispanic Heritage Month events

 

Variety of other cultural events planned during Hispanic Heritage Month