This Saturday, Por la Libre, the traveling community radio station of Peninsula 360 Press, broadcast from East Palo Alto, a city in San Mateo County, where the Cinco de Mayo Latino Festival will be celebrated this Sunday, seeking to praise the culture of Mexico and other countries. Latin American countries.
Manuel Ortiz spoke with Héctor Calvario from the group Los de Cali.
At only 16 years old, Héctor says that the group started in Redwood City at Sequoia High School, and there they got together to listen to music. What started for fun has today become a small band that plays at public and private events.
Héctor was born in Palo Alto, but his parents are from Guadalajara, Jalisco, in Mexico, and although he still does not know the land where his parents were born, he plans to visit it soon.
The group plays rock music in Spanish and English, from classics from the 50s to current ones.
Tomorrow, Sunday, May 5, Los de Cali will play at the Latino Festival in East Palo Alto, a celebration that, with music, colors and lots of food, seeks to celebrate Mexicanness, as well as Latin culture.
For Héctor, the celebration of May 5 represents "the nation of Mexico, something very important for culture, music and everything."
Edie Insunsa, also from Los de Cali, said she is from Baja California, but her parents are from Sinaloa, Mexico. He arrived at the age of 11 in the United States and, for him, May 5 is a day to unite cultures, both Mexican and American, as it celebrates roots through music, food and dance.
But why is May 5th celebrated in the United States.
According to the American historian John Mraz, although May 5 refers to the Battle of Puebla, fought between the French and Mexican armies in 1862, where Mexico emerged victorious; However, it was the United States beer companies that in the 1980s took advantage of the date to sell their product, especially with the Latin community.
Rubén Abrica, council member of East Palo Alto, and former mayor of the same city, who has been involved for many years in community activities in the community, said that, in particular, in East Palo Alto, it will be 40 years to celebrate May 5, coinciding with the time when the community sought to be autonomous and independent from San Mateo County.
Abrica highlighted that, in those years, the Latin community, especially the Mexican, represented 15 percent of the population, and there were conflicts, because being a minority there were complaints that Spanish was not spoken, and they felt bad about it. . "We were a minority."
From there came the Latino Committee and the Bilingual Parent Committee, who were very active in the schools.
In 1985, the first Latino Festival was held, with the aim of making the community feel united. Fact that was achieved.
And, even though many companies tried to sponsor the event, it remained of and for the community.
Listen to all the information in For the Free.
#PorLaLibre from East Palo Alto https://t.co/GVBs082fsn
- Peninsula 360 Press (@Peninsula360P) May 4, 2024
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