Greeley Fiesta spotlights Mexican-American culture

GREELEY – When the colorful and energetic Azteca dancers take their first steps down Greeley’s 14th Street to launch the annual Greeley Fiesta parade, Annabelia Salazar’s favorite part of the fiesta begins.
The 2004 Greeley Fiesta will be held Sept. 10-19, highlighted by a parade on Sept. 18 along 14th Street between Greeley Central High School and Island Grove Regional Park.
Like all of the fiesta events, “the parade is for everyone,” Salazar says. It serves as a living invitation to join the fiesta. “It shows people that this is a fiesta for everyone and everyone is welcome.”
The parade’s diverse entries – from dancers and musicians to low-rider cars – embody the theme of the 2004 event: Fiesta de Colores or Fiesta of Colors.
In 2004 the Greeley Fiesta marks its fourth anniversary with a wide range of events including dances, concerts and parties and political and educational seminars.
The overall purpose of the event is to recognize the long tradition of Mexican-American history and culture in Greeley and the Weld County area, said Dr. Priscilla Falcon, 2004 fiesta coordinator.
Falcon is a professor at University of Northern Colorado who teaches Hispanic Studies.
“Greeley is this wonderful mixture,” she noted. “There is such a diversity within the Mexican population. In this community we have people who have roots in Texas, roots in New Mexico and roots in Mexico. They have their own linguistic cultural backgrounds. They have their own musical traditions.
“Greeley is this little crucible where all these come together.”
Fiesta events will take place at Greeley’s Island Grove Regional Park, 501 N. 14th Ave. The fiesta opens Friday, Sept. 10, with a musical gala. The gala pays tribute to the varied musical styles that have evolved within the community, Falcon said.
Saturday, Sept. 11, is devoted to activities celebrating the senior citizen community. “We think it’s just wonderful that (the seniors) are participating with us because we have such a deep respect for the elders in the community. We’re so happy that they’re the ones that really kick off the Fiesta,” Falcon said.
Senior citizens from the Greeley-Evans area will coordinate a conference, banquet and dance on Sept. 10.
A series of forums take place Sept. 14, 15 and 16. The forums are aimed at drawing in all aspects of the community, Falcon said. “We want to open up space so that we can hear from and look at the community’s assets in a broader sense. Not just, let’s have a party, but what is the composition of the community.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 14, the topic is “Educational Policy and Strategy for the Next Two Decades.” The forum will explore concerns about dropout rates as well as creative policies and strategies that might be implemented to address educational issues.
Where Tuesday’s focus is on academic elements, Wednesday the focus turns to politics with the forum titled “Electoral Impact and Demographic Changes in the Southwest.”
Thursday, Sept. 16, the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center in Greeley will coordinate events that incorporate UNC students and community members in a cultural celebration.
Friday, Sept. 17, a Mexican Dance featuring live music is planned at Island Grove Park.
Fiesta events continue Saturday, Sept. 18, with the parade stepping off at 10 a.m. from Greeley Central High School.
At 11 a.m. that day, free stage entertainment begins featuring 18 entertainers including musicians, dancers and comedians. The free stage entertainment continues during Sunday fiesta events at Island Grove as well.
One of the best-attended fiesta events, the free stage entertainment “gives us the chance as a community to show off the talents we have,” Falcon said.
Fiesta events on Saturday and Sunday also feature games, vendors, contests and a regional boxing tournament.
“Saturday night is our big event,” Falcon said. A dance performance kicks off at 8 p.m. with Alama Latina, Dominacion and A.B. Quintanilla and the Kumbia Kings performing. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Sunday morning the fiesta briefly turns contemplative when events open with a Mariachi Mass beginning at 11 a.m. at Island Grove. Following the mass, free stage entertainment begins at noon and continues to 3:30 p.m. accompanied by booths, games, a low-rider car show and other events.
The fiesta has its own history. Once part of the annual Greeley Stampede rodeo that takes place every July 4th, the fiesta was a one-day celebration. When stampede organizers opted to discontinue fiesta day, “a group of community organizations got together and advocated for taking a broader look” at the event, Falcon said.
“They wanted to create a whole fiesta that incorporates a lot of variety and diversity from the fun part to the educational part to the political part and look at the whole spectrum of our community,” she said.
And so the Greeley Fiesta was born.
Traditionally held during the summer months, in 2004 the fiesta has been moved to September to coincide with Sept. 16 when Mexico celebrates its independence, Falcon said. Falcon said organizers expect that moving the dates of the event will likely boost attendance, which has held steady at about 40,000 over the past few years.
The fiesta’s original organizers started with little beyond high hopes, Annabelia Salazar said. “We didn’t have much money but we still did it, we still kept on going.
“Our hope is that one day Fiesta will be big, where everybody, not only from Greeley but from all the areas around us, can come around and have a good time,” she said. “It’s not for me, it’s not for the members of the fiesta committee. It’s for everyone.”

Rendezvous

Fiesta de Colores
Sept. 10-19
Island Grove Regional Park
501 N. 14th Avenue, Greeley
Admission: Varies; some events are free
For more information: (970) 405-2542

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