Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board

By Andre Salles asalles@stmedianetwork.com Sep 23, 2010 09:57AM

AURORA — When they first came together to resurrect Fiestas Patrias in Aurora, even the organizers weren’t sure how it would be received.

But last weekend’s two-day celebration was, by all accounts, a tremendous success. Roughly 7,000 people came out to River Street Park on Saturday and Sunday to eat locally made Mexican food, hear music from an international blend of artists, and commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence.

Fiestas Patrias was privately organized in Aurora for 18 years, before the annual celebration ended in 2003 amid concerns over the behavior of attendees. According to Norma Vazquez, executive director of the Aurora Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, when discussions about reviving Fiestas Patrias in Aurora began in earnest last year, all involved knew they had to do it right.

As far as the city is concerned, they did. Police reported no incidents whatsoever over the two days, and city spokesman Dan Ferrelli called the event “safe, fun and family-oriented.”

The Hispanic Chamber partnered with the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board and worked for a year to bring the festival to fruition.

Vazquez said organizers launched a campaign to keep attendees on their best behavior, enlisting local churches to help. Jesus Sanchez, co-owner of La Quinta de Los Reyes on New York Street, booked the bands for the main stage, drawing from local acts and musicians from Mexico.

La Chicanita Bakery constructed a 7-foot-tall cake on Sunday and handed out slices to attendees. The first piece of that cake was cut by Gov. Pat Quinn, and he ate it with gusto.

The parade, led by grand marshals Sanchez and Alderman Juany Garza, stepped off at noon on Sunday and drew thousands of people downtown.

Diana Torres, chairman of the Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board, said the only drawback was Saturday’s rain. Fiestas Patrias, she said, was “an opportunity to highlight everything the Latino community brings to the table, an opportunity to celebrate everything we do well.”

Bringing Fiestas Patrias back was important for Vazquez, a second-generation Mexican American. She remembers sitting on the side of Broadway as a young girl and watching the Fiestas Patrias parade. Getting to participate in Sunday’s parade as the master of ceremonies brought those memories flooding back.

Looking out over the crowd on Sunday, she knew there was at least one child having the experiences she once had.

“It was so important to us to champion this event, to bring it back to the community,” she said. “All the long hours, all the months of planning, was definitely worth it.”

By Marie Wilson | Daily Herald Staff

In some ways, it seems like everything about the festival has changed this year.

For starters, it’s called Fiestas Patrias rather than Fiesta de Luces. It’s relocated to North River Street Park from the Aurora Transportation Center. And it will last two days instead of one.

Still, the focus of Fiestas Patrias is the same: to celebrate Hispanic heritage, music and food.

“It’s all geared around Hispanic traditions or the culture,” said Delia Nila Basile, events coordinator for the city of Aurora.

The festival on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 18 and 19, will celebrate Mexico’s bicentennial and the independence days of several Latin American countries with music, a carnival, free kids activities and authentic Hispanic food.

An event called Fiestas de Luces, formerly hosted by the city’s Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board, celebrated Hispanic culture in the past, but Fiestas Patrias will expand the scope of the party, said Rene Cruz, president of the Aurora Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“The consensus among business owners was what a shame it is for the community, with the demographics we have, that if we want to celebrate Hispanic heritage, we have to go out of Aurora,” Cruz said. “The heritage board did Fiesta de Luces – but not at the scale or level of Fiestas Patrias.”

The event is expanding because the heritage board accepted an offer from the Aurora Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to jointly run the festival, said Diana Torres, chairwoman of the Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board.

“It affords us the opportunity to still bring free events to the community,” Torres said. “You don’t need money to come.”

The heritage board is sponsoring a free kids activity area that will include inflatables, pony rides, a magic show, temporary tattoos, a craft table and a coloring wall run by the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum in Chicago, Torres said.

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce contributed to the event by finding sponsors and recruiting local businesses to set up displays at the festival, Cruz said.

Thirteen musical groups will perform over two days and Fiestas Patrias’ main sponsor, Comcast, will record everything so local Comcast Cable subscribers can watch it later, Basile said.

The large, family-friendly, musical celebration of Hispanic heritage should fill a void in the Aurora area, Cruz said.

“This is something that is long overdue,” Cruz said. “It would be a dream to see the entire community come out and recognize the contributions the Hispanic community makes to the community as a whole and to enjoy some of the culture.”

If you go

What: Fiestas Patrias, Hispanic music and heritage festival

When: Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19

Where: North River Street Park and the adjacent parking lot at River and Vine streets in downtown Aurora

Cost: Free admission

Details: Parade program starts at 11:15 a.m. Sunday in front of the Paramount Theatre, 8 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora

Info: (630) 264-2422 or ahcc-il.com

Aurorans will have many ways to celebrate Latin American heritage during the Fiestas Patrias festival and parade. As part of the celebration, a giant six-foot cake will be sliced following Sunday’s parade and distributed amongst all who are present at the Festival site. Aurora’s La Chicanita Bakery will be constructing the six-foot cake, which will take over two hours to assemble and will produce about 5,000 slices for parade attendees. “It is important to recognize that in our diverse community Fiestas Patrias is a celebration for everyone, and the cutting of the cake provided by La Chicanita is our invitation to celebrate together” said Norma Vazquez, Executive Director of the Aurora Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Fiestas Patrias is a two-day music festival and will take place in downtown Aurora on Saturday, September 18th from noon to 10 pm and Sunday, September 19th from noon until 8 pm. Reestablishing the Fiestas Patrias festival is timely considering the bicentennial anniversary of Mexico and several other Latin American countries’ declarations of independence from Spain in 1810. Fiestas Patrias Aurora 2010 invites the community to celebrate and recognize this event. The festival series will be staged at North River Street Park and the parking lot immediately south of the park. Main stage entertainment will take place throughout Saturday and Sunday. Various genres of music will be performed, including banda, mariachi, cumbia, tejano, norteno, and rock. A free children’s amusement area will be featured on both days in addition to a carnival area complete with games and rides. Vendors will provide booths specializing in festive foods and many different culinary delights from Latin America, along with traditional festival food fare of Bar-B-Que, corn on the cob, hot wings and other delights. Additionally, local businesses will provide booths with offerings for festival patrons. The parade steps off at 12 noon, Sunday, September 19th at the corner of River Street and Benton Street; then to Broadway, Galena Boulevard, Stolp Avenue, Downer Place, and ending at Middle Avenue. The parade program begins at 11:15 am in front of the Paramount Theatre. Admission to Fiestas Patrias Aurora 2010 is free to all ages. The Aurora Police Department will coordinate the festival’s security efforts, and volunteers will make up the vast majority of the event staff. Anyone interested in becoming a Fiestas Patrias Aurora 2010 event volunteer, or for more event information, should contact Norma Vazquez, Executive Director at (630) 264-2422 or visit AHCC-IL.COM.

Fiestas Patrias Aurora 2010 (Click on thumbnail to see poster)