San Bernardino Latino Book & Family Festival
Set for Inland Empire
Free fun for the whole family highlights book festival to take place at the
National Orange Show the first weekend of December.
San Bernardino, CA, November 15, 2000 - - Actor Edward James Olmos announces that the first annual San Bernardino Latino Book & Family Festival is coming to the Inland Empire. This exciting event will take place on Saturday, December 2, from 10 a.m.–7 p.m., and Sunday, December 3, from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., at the National Orange Show, 689 South "E" Street, Citrus and Damus buildings. Admission is free. (Parking is $2.)
As festival producer, Olmos says, "We are very excited to bring this event that promotes literacy, culture and education once again to the Inland Empire. We have planned a variety of exciting activities including author panels, book signings, poetry readings, children’s events and live entertainment to engage every member of the family. And admission is free!" An expected 200 exhibitor booths will feature a wide variety of products, services and activities.
A number of performers, including dance groups, singers, storytellers, mariachis and more, will enliven the festival’s stages with fun, entertainment and learning experiences. They include: (partial listing) Ballet Folklórico Cultural de San Bernardino. This community-based, nonprofit organization and dance group was founded in 1995. More than 70 students make up the group, which has performed throughout Southern California. It has won numerous awards and has participated in the Tucson International Mariachi Conference.
Ballet Folklórico Nuestras Tradiciones. Founded in 1998, this group has performed at many charity and educational events throughout the Inland Empire and Los Angeles. The group performs dances from Veracruz, Jalisco, Northern Mexico, Nayarit, Chiapas and from the time of the Revolution. Instructors are Johnny Duran and Carlos Alba.
Georgette Baker. Born in Aruba and raised in Venezuela, Georgette Baker is the producer and writer of the Cantemos children’s book and tape series of traditional songs and fingerplays from Spanish-speaking countries. She is a certified teacher and has worked on television as a field reporter. She is a multicultural performer for schools and libraries.
Patricia Cano. "Puros Cuentos" Cano, who works for Head Start in Riverside and is a former pre-school teacher, is a storyteller and writer who delights young people with her readings and stories. / Cano es narradora y escritora de cuentos infantiles. Ella dice: "Contar cuentos en español no es aburrido cuando el que los cuenta los hace divertidos".
José Luis Orozco. Born in Mexico City, José Luis Orozco has achieved success as a children’s author, songwriter, performer and recording artist. He has recorded 12 volumes of "Lírica Infantil," Latin American children’s music, and has written two award-winning books, De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children and Diez Deditos/Ten Little Fingers. His performances enthrall youngsters and adults, as do all his recordings.
Mariachi Estudiantes del Inland Empire. Sponsored by the Rialto-based Inland Empire Mariachi Youth Education Foundation, members range in age from 8 to 18 and come from all over San Bernardino County. The group was founded three and a half years ago has been asked to perform outside the state. It consists of 42 members.
Mariachi Los Jaguares del Bajío. This group of students, that started in middle school and has moved on to high school, was formed two years ago in San Bernardino. It counts 11 young men and women as members and enjoys strong support from parents.
Martin Espino. Espino recreates the sound of pre-Hispanic instruments from North, Central, and South America. His instruments are made or recycled from natural materials. The music he performs come from several sources including indigenous musicians, archival writings and recordings, original compositions, and improvisations.
Lalo Guerrero. Guerrero is internationally recognized as the "Father of Chicano Music." The legendary Mexican American singer and composer has enjoyed a career of more than six decades beginning with the classic "Canción Mexicana" composed while still in teens in his native Tucson. It was the first of hundreds of songs written and recorded by Guerrero. At the height of his recording years in the fifties and sixties, his music dominated the Latin American charts in the United States, Mexico and South America.
Sol de México. This ballet folklórico has been performing the regional dances of Mexico for 10 years. Based in Riverside, the group consists of 70 members ranging in age from 3 years to adults. They have won a number of awards, including first place awards, at several dance competitions. They perform throughout the county.
Tío Alecc. Seth Sherwood-Flores, "Tío Alecc," teaches English at Santa Ana High School and is very active in promoting bilingual education. His bicultural upbringing in Guatemala, his fluency in Spanish and his commitment to helping children learn have motivated him to create "Tio Alecc" and "Mimi" the reading gorilla (portrayed by his wife Delia). His goal is to inspire young children to read, dream and persevere.
Festival co-host is the Inland Empire Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Sponsors include La Prensa/The Riverside Press Enterprise, NBC, Latina Magazine, Del Monte, Farmers Insurance Group and Washington Mutual. Media sponsors include Alcancia de Ahorros, El Chicano, El Clasificado, El Informador del Valle, Hispanic Magazine, Inland Empire Hispanic Lifestyles, Inland Empire Hispanic News, KDIF, iLaRocketa.com, LITE 92.7 FM, La Voz, Radio Unica and SABOR Magazine. Additional support comes from the San Bernardino Convention and Visitors Bureau and the National Orange Show.
The Latino Book & Family Festival was launched in 1997 in Los Angeles to promote literacy, culture and education and to provide people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the multicultural communities in the United States in a festival atmosphere. The 2000 Los Angeles festival drew 45,788 visitors, with 744 exhibitors, making it the largest Latino consumer trade show in the United States. For more general information call 909-342-0684, 760-434-7474 or 323-255-9206.
The property is represented and produced in part by Pochteca EventWorks, a diversified Marketing/Sponsorship, Event Management & Entertainment Company. Festival sponsorship and exhibitor information
is available by calling 310-876-1002 or can be obtained
by visiting the festivals web site at www.pochtecaeventworks.net/lbff.htm.
