Santa Ana’s Chicano Heritage Festival at El Salvador Park celebrates Chicano culture with a car show, pictured, live music, food trucks and amusement rides for kids on Sunday, August 27, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Andrea Gonzalez, 6, left, and Sofia Calderon, 3, enjoy the adrenaline rush of “Pirates Revenge,” an amusement ride at Santa Ana’s Chicano Heritage Festival at El Salvador Park on Sunday, August 27, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
One-year-old Aaliyah Sek is not happy to meet a Santa Ana Police horse while her grandma Linda Arizaga holds her during the Chicano Heritage Festival at El Salvador Park on Sunday, August 27, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A 1966 Chevy Caprice, owned by Victor and Elsa Mendez, features 1970s-style paint and a Santa Ana theme. Victor Mendez calls the car, “Happy wife, happy life.” It was at Santa Ana’s Chicano Heritage Festival ’s car show at El Salvador Park on Sunday, August 27, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Vickey Tafoya and the Big Beat perform during Santa Ana’s Chicano Heritage Festival at El Salvador Park on
Sunday, August 27, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Crafts, food, amusement rides, and entertainment are featured at the second annual Chicano Heritage Festival at El Salvador Park in Santa Ana on Sunday, August 27, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Artist Mariana Aguilar is all smiles after her mural is unveiled during Santa Ana’s Chicano Heritage Festival at El Salvador Park on Sunday, August 27, 2023. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Ana neighbors gathered Sunday, Aug. 27, in El Salvador Park for a celebration of the community’s Chicano heritage.
In community tradition, cars cruised over to the park near Santa Ana College and parked in the afternoon sun for a car show. Families filled the park enjoying carnival rides and activities.
Local artist Marina Aguilera, a Santa Ana native with work that can be seen across the city, unveiled a new mural and community groups performed.
The Chicano Heritage Festival is about bringing the community together, Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez said, “to celebrate our stories and to celebrate our history and to look forward to where we’re going together.”
