Stadium will host a Mexican independence celebration
Desert Sun Stadium will be the setting Saturday for the celebration of Mexico’s independence day.
The celebration, staged by the Mexican Consulate in Yuma in partnership with the City of Yuma, begins at 5 p.m. in the stadium located next to the Yuma Civic Center at 1440 W. Desert Hills Drive. Admission is free.
The celebration marks the 208th anniversary of Mexico’s declaration of independence from Spain, and festivities are moving from the civic center to the outdoor stadium on Saturday.
“We are offering a cordial invitation to everyone to join us in the stadium. There will be Mexican music, folkloric dances, art exhibitions and Mexican food,” said Jose Antonio Larios Ponce, the Mexican consul in Yuma.
The musical headliner for the celebration will be ranchera music star Azucena La de Jalisco, who will be accompanied by the group Mariachi Aguila, from Tijuana, Baja Calif.
Born in Guadalajara, Azucena was mentored as a singer in her teens by the family of famed Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez. She has gone on to perform not only around Mexico, but in the United States and Central and South America. In 2000, she performed at the World Economic Forum, and in 2002 she took part in the noted Vina del Mar festival in Chile.
Other entertainment Saturday will include demonstrations of charreria by the Espuelas de Oro charro association from Somerton.
Beginning at 8:30 p.m. Larios will lead the crowd in the recitation of the Grito de Independencia, a re-enactment of the appeal made by Miguel Hidalgo, a priest in Dolores, Mexico, to Mexicans to rise up against their Spanish rulers on the night of Sept. 15, 1810.
The grito will be preceded by the reading of two proclamations, one relating to Mexican Independence Day and the other relating to Hispanic Heritage Month. Among those scheduled to take part in the observance are Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls and members of the Yuma County Board of Supervisors.
Food booths will be set up in the stadium to serve food, and Yuma Art Center, Kofa High School Art Club and the county’s library district will host arts exhibits and activities for children.