Multiple commemorations of Tuesday’s 215th anniversary of El Grito de Dolores which sparked the Mexican War of Independence, will be held in Los Angeles and Orange counties Saturday and Sunday amid an ongoing federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
The commemoration at Los Angeles City Hall and adjacent Gloria Molina Grand Park will have the theme, “Viva La Resistencia” — “Long Live Resistance.”
“This event is to commemorate some historical events, and it’s a moment to remember what resistance looks like,” said Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who will host the event. “Joy is part of that resistance. Love is a part of that resistance. Amando tu prójimo (loving your fellow man), that is resistance because they want us to be in this race where if someone trips you don’t go back and pick them up.”
Hernandez told City News Service in a telephone interview Thursday that this year’s event is more important than ever due to the aggressive enforcement of illegal immigration by the federal government.
“The theme (of resistance) is so important… because it feels like we are in a moment where they’re trying to erase our communities,” Hernandez said.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told City News Service on Tuesday “the Trump administration will continue fulfilling its mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens.”
Hernandez pledged that the city will make the event as safe as possible for anyone in attendance.
The commemoration will begin at 5 p.m. and include musical performances by Banda Machos, Los Colibri, Las Cafeteras and Banda Las Angelinas, food trucks, vendors, a resource fair and lucha libre wrestling matches.
San Fernando’s El Grito commemoration will start at 6 p.m. Saturday at its City Hall and will include traditional foods, a classic car show and entertainment.
The 79th annual East Los Angeles Mexican Independence Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. Sunday at Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mednik Avenue and proceed east, then a mile-and-a-half west. Retired NASA astronaut José M. Hernández will be the grand marshal.
The parade is the nation’s oldest and largest Latin parade, according to organizers.
A festival be held from 11 a.m. thorough 5 p.m.
El Grito will be marked on Olvera Street with music, cultural activities, giveaways and food starting at 6 p.m. Sunday.
Mariachi and folklorico performances will be held at the Downey Theatre in Downey starting at 5 p.m. Sunday.
A fiesta will be held in Santa Ana from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday with a street fair, live music and cultural performances. A parade will be held Sunday.
Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang a church bell in Dolores, Mexico on Sept. 16, 1810, giving a call to arms — El Grito de Delores — that ignited the Mexican War of Independence against Spain. The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire was signed on Sept. 28, 1821.