Wide spectrum of music on display at Fiesta Mexicana

By Michael Burke

Sunday, August 13, 2006 2:12 AM CDT

RACINE - Fiesta Mexicana 2006 brought some of the sights and smells of the Latin world to Festival Hall, and it certainly brought the sounds.

The festival had been run by a Milwaukee organization until last year, when Racine's Hispanic Business and Professional Association took it over. Joe Morales of Caledonia, who had 20 years of experience lining up music for Milwaukee's Mexican Fiesta, agreed to act as entertainment coordinator.

"I decided my roots were in Racine," he said.

Fiesta 2006 - which opened Friday and continues through today - has at least 15 different bands, Morales said. Last year, when the association had just taken over the annual event, finding bands required a lot more work.

This year, he started booking them in January and February. "Once a festival gets started, you don't even have to look for bands; they look for you," Morales said.

The lineup of bands this year included some local acts, but many from Texas.

"In the past, they stuck to one kind of music, mostly," Morales said. "This year we're trying to get music for everyone."

The musical styles include Tejano, salsa, banda, some rock and even Spanish hip-hop. There were mariachi bands with their horns and ballet forklorico, with costumes representing the different Mexican states.

Tejano music is a fixture at every Mexican festival. Morales said that Tejano music was born from the influence of German and Polish accordians and polkas, when it fell on Latino ears. Latinos added drums and the bajo sexto, a 12-string guitar.

Morales said there's lots of dancing at Fiesta Mexicana.

"We're a culture that loves to dance ... rather than just sit and listen." Festival-goers - who he said come from an area spanning from Chicago to Madison - do such dances as polkas, cumbias and duranguense.

He was proud to have brought in the Garcia Brothers, who perform a lively show in their zoot suits.

"I usually try to grab the bands before they get too big, before they get too expensive," Morales said. "Before they receive a Grammy."

Fiesta Mexicana is primarily a fundraiser for educational scholarships, and it depends partly on sponsorships.

It's also a place for nonprofit groups to sell some food or merchandise to help their own causes. One particularly interesting member of that group this year is MayaWorks, which sells the creations and weavings of women artisans in Guatemala.

Their brightly colored offerings included bracelets, table runners, scarves, bibs and headbands. The sale of their work helps the women end their cycle of poverty and improve their lives.

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