Fiesta is not a Mexican festival. It’s a Hispanic festival. If you don’t know the difference, then the six hours of music, storytelling, dancing, drinking, eating and general revelry scheduled for this Saturday in Linn Park will be a good primer on Latin American culture. At the very least, you might learn the difference between Cumbia and clave, or between a habanero and a habanera.

What began as a project to provide college scholarships to Hispanic high school students in Alabama has become one of the city’s significant festivals. Now in its sixth year, Fiesta includes a daylong lineup of live music; dance performances; children’s art activities; health and education services, including a job fair and a “Cultural Village” where educators and volunteers will represent more than a dozen Latin American countries. Fiesta 2008 takes place this Saturday, Oct. 18, in Linn Park from noon to 8 p.m.

The festival was created by the Hispanic Business Council (HBC) of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce. Back in 2001, HBC members were looking for a way to raise scholarship money for Hispanic students attending Alabama colleges and universities and decided to host a community concert. When the idea evolved into a full-scale festival, HBC members decided to form a non-profit organization whose sole mission was to organize and manage a yearly festival to celebrate and educate the public on the diverse cultures within the Hispanic community in Alabama.

“That first year, we were expecting attendance of about 1,000,” remembers Teresa Zuñiga Odom, current president of the Fiesta board. “But word spread fast – we wound up with about 7,000 people.”

Based on food sales and the amount of donation money raised at the 2007 Fiesta, Odom estimates that about 20,000 people attended last year’s event. Fiesta organizers expect a similar turnout on Saturday.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Gabriela Vergara, a former Miss Venezuela, telenovela actress and star of the Hispanic Desperate Housewives will act as host of the Coca-Cola/McDonald’s Main Stage. Musical acts scheduled to perform include the Latin fusion outfit Fuego Band; the Grammy Award-winning, accordion-playing Tejano phenom Michael Salgado and Colombian DJ Ivan Correa. Storyteller Antonio Sacre, a crowd favorite at last year’s Fiesta, will give a special performance on the mainstage in addition to his three shows in the Storytelling Village, and a 12-year-old Mariachi phenom named Angela Mendoza will make her Alabama debut at 3:30 p.m. The Colombian salsa band Sonora Carruseles is headlining the mainstage.

The Alabama Power Arts Village, located outside the Birmingham Museum of Art, will host art activities for children. Between playing carnival games, making balloon sculptures and having their faces painted, children can meet and make friends with Bart the Art Bat, the museum’s new family mascot.

The CBS 42 Cultural Village will include information booths for at least 15 Latin American countries. Local volunteers from represented countries will be manning booths with interactive cultural exhibits.

“The Cultural Village is really what it’s all about,” Odom says. “What you see and the people you talk to there — it’s like taking a  walk through Latin America. We may all speak Spanish, but that doesn’t mean all our cultures are the same.”
In 2007, Fiesta organizers added a stage in the Cultural Village area in part because in previous years, spontaneous performances happened throughout that section of the park. This year, there are a few scheduled performances in the Cultural Village but the stage will also serve as an open mic area.

Also returning from the 2007 Fiesta is the Storytelling Village. Located outside the Linn Henley Library, this village is collaboration between the Birmingham Public Library and the Literacy Council of Alabama. Storyteller and performer Antonio Sacre is the featured performer, with shows at noon, 2 and 4:30 p.m.

Other highlights of Fiesta include a special appearance by Mexican luchadore, Blue Demon Jr., the son of the legendary luch libre and film star, Blue Demon, and 3-on-3 tournament play in The Alabama Youth Soccer Futbol Village.
According to Odom, the Health & Wellness Village is the part of Fiesta that has grown the most in recent years. Focusing on “The Vitality of Our People” as a theme, the village gives Hispanic and non-Hispanic guests a chance to learn more about the medical options and resources available to them in Birmingham and surrounding areas. The Jefferson County Health Departments’ mobile dental screening unit will be on site, along with representatives from 17 non-profit organizations.

The City of Birmingham Community Village will showcase local non-profit organizations that work with the Hispanic community; this area also includes a job fair.