Santa Ana to Proceed with Chicano Heritage Festival, Despite ICE Raids and Political Tension

Cynthia Rebolledo
Aug 6
3 min read

The fourth annual festival promises a free, family-friendly day full of music, cars, food and community on Aug. 24 at Centennial Park.

The family-friendly Chicano Heritage Festival is a multi-generational celebration. Photo courtesy of the city of Santa Ana

Later this month, the city of Santa Ana is planning to hold its fourth annual Chicano Heritage Festival celebrating Mexican American culture and community from 2 to 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at Centennial Park. Similar celebrations will happen across Southern California and beyond, but this commemoration is particularly special.

Four years ago, Santa Ana became the first city in the country to declare August as Chicano Heritage Month, differentiating itself from Hispanic Heritage Month which takes place across the country from Sept. 15 to Oct. 16.

“This event highlights the profound impacts that Mexican Americans have had on the country and the diversity as to what Chicanos represent across this country,” said councilmember Johnathan Hernandez, citing in particular anti-Vietnam War marches organized by Chicanos across the American Southwest, and the death of late Los Angeles Times columnist Ruben Salazar covering one in East Los Angeles in the 1970s. “We need to continue to celebrate their stories, because we are living in a country that is attempting to erase them.”

From previous year's festivals. PHOTO 1: The Santa Ana Chicano Heritage Festival stage. PHOTO 2: Attendees show off their Zoot Suit style. PHOTO 3: Large crowds enjoy the musical acts at the festival. Photos courtesy of the city of Santa Ana

The free, family-friendly event comes after the Santa Ana City Council voted unanimously at their July 1 meeting to create a temporary financial assistance fund of $100,000 – pulled from 10% of the city’s events budget, without canceling any scheduled events – to help families impacted by immigration raids.

Some activists felt the council should cancel all city-sponsored events, a stance Hernandez doesn’t agree with.

“There's no reason why we should freeze our city from celebrating and bringing the community together,” he said. “There's an attack on our culture, and it's our responsibility to preserve that, and the best way that we can preserve our culture today is by standing proudly in it.”

This year’s festival, hosted by DJ Old School Becky Lu, will include a lowrider cruise and car show, food vendors, community booths, a kids’ zone, cultural exhibits and a community art show.

From previous years at the Chicano Heritage Festival, lowriders cruise through Centennial Park for the Chicano Heritage Festival Cruise. Photo courtesy of the city of Santa Ana

Valley High School ethnic studies students led by their teacher, Santa Ana Councilmember Benjamin Vasquez, will be presenting eight four-by-five feet panels with depictions of indigenous history, farmworkers, the Chicano moratorium, Santa Ana city struggles, Dreamers and immigration.

“As the students worked on the project, the murals became a call to action to what's happening now with the ICE raids,” Vasquez said. “There’s always been struggles but we’ve always come together and fought back – this is that moment.”

Local Aztec dancers from Danza Azteca Xochipilli will start the festival off with a blessing followed by DJ collective Funk Freaks spinning oldies and old-school music.

Attendees will also be able to enjoy live music that will range from rockabilly, early ‘40s Mexican rhythm and blues, Chicano rock, funk and soul from bands like The Desperados, Pachuco Jose y Los Diamantes, Diamond Ortiz and Zackey Force Funk, Thee Midniters and El Chicano.

Councilmember Jessie Lopez emphasizes what started as a modest celebration has grown into a powerful event that the community looks forward to.

“Every year it gets bigger, more vibrant, more inclusive and we have really seen it evolve into a multi-generational gathering,” Lopez said. “It's important that we are able to provide these spaces for our residents to come together and celebrate all of the achievements of our past as a community.”

Volunteers from Project Kinship. The organization, a nonprofit organization that provides support and training to lives impacted by incarceration, gangs and violence through hope, healing and transformation, is a title-level partner for the 2025 Santa Ana Chicano Heritage Festival. Photo courtesy of the city of Santa Ana

Sponsoring the event is the Anaheim Ducks and Project Kinship, a nonprofit organization that provides support and training to lives impacted by incarceration, gangs and violence through hope, healing and transformation.

“My favorite part of this event is meeting all the people that proudly tell me, ‘I come every year with my whole family,’” Councilmember Hernandez said. “It reminds me that there's a new generation of young people who are young today, but they will lead tomorrow and I'm looking forward to those young people one day leading the Chicano Heritage Festival.”