Members of the Ballet Folklorico performing a traditional Mexican dance. Photo by Ryan Lely.
Mexican Independence Day
Vineyard Workers Services presents a schedule of activities
12 noon Celebration Opens with food and informational booths
12:30 p.m. Grupo Sinai performing contemporary music ñ jazz, pop and rock
1 p.m. Sonoma’s Talent: a show featuring local performers
1:30 p.m. Danza Azteca Coyoxuaqui From Sonoma Countyís Coyoxuaqui brings home the roots of their Mexican heritage.
2 p.m. Mariachi Tecoman One of Santa Rosaís most popular mariachi, Tecoman is named for the town in the state of Colima where they origniated 50 years ago. They now perform throughout the Bay area.
Ballet Folklorico Quetzalem SVHS high school student Irak Garcia, 16, born in La Barca, Jalisco, directs dancers from the youth group of St. Francis Solano Catholic Church as they perform to the music of Mariachi Tecoman.
5:15 p.m. Grupo Expresion New Sonoma Valley group will make its debut, as it gets ready to release its first album.
6 p.m. Formal Ceremony: Civic Moment
Jesús Orto officiates and Vice-consul of Mexico reenacts the traditional ìshout of Doloresî that incited the uprising against Spanish rule
6:45 p.m. Banda El Milagro This talented local Sonoma group plays the popular regional Mexican music, banda. Everyone dances.
8 p.m. Event Closes.
Exuberant chords of mariachi trumpets, heady swirl of many colored skirts, and the aroma of carnitas and tamales once again will fill the Plaza this Sunday, Sept. 14 for the annual celebration of Mexican Independence Day. The event commemorates the struggle of the Mexican people to win their independence from Spain.
This year marks the 198th celebration of the “fiestas patrias” – patriotic fiestas – which are as dear to every Mexican’s heart as the Fourth of July is to everyone raised in the U.S.
In Mexico, the day of Sept. 16 is cause for a proud celebration of the revolution which brought an end to Spanish colonial domination. Nowadays, in the Sonoma Valley, the traditional celebration of freedom from oppression is infused with the additional sense of appreciation for the freedoms enjoyed in this country..
Mario Castillo, director of outreach for Vineyard Workers Services, explained that this year’s poster was commissioned to reflect the celebration of freedom both here and in Mexico. Latina artist Bertha Paredes painted the Sonoma Valley, its grapes and the Mission as backdrop, to convey artistically the concept of cultural integration.
In the Plaza on Sunday, booths will open at noon and festivities will get underway at 12:30 under the direction of master of ceremonies Feliciano Fuentes, KSVY 91.3 Sonoma’s popular “Chanito.“ Entertainment will feature the well-known group Mariachi Tecoman. There will also be a Sonoma talent show and the local Ballet Folclórico Quetzalem, featuring members of St. Francis Solano’s youth group under the direction of 16-year-old Sonoma Valley High student Irak Garcia. The dancers will be accompanied by the Mariachi Tecoman.
Among the heroes of the Mexican revolution is Father Miguel Hidalgo, whose famous “cry of Dolores” (in Spanish, El Grito de Delores) incited the revolt, will be reenacted in the opening moments of the formal ceremony at 6 p.m. Jesús Orto will preside over the traditional civic ceremony, which features the Vice-Consul of Mexico echoing the historic “shout” of freedom. The day will close with dancing until dusk to the music of Banda El Milagro.
The event is sponsored by Vineyard Workers Services, with the support of the Sonoma Valley Sun and El Sol de Sonoma, local radio KSVY 91.3 and El Verano School, as well as by the local businesses Carnicería Chapala, Sonoma Party Supplies and Video Tepa.
For more information please call Mario Castillo at 707.933.0897.
