Mexican Independence Day Events

Olympic gold medal boxer Oscar De La Hoya will be the grand marshal at the Mexican Independence Day Parade Sunday in East Los Angeles, which will also feature retiring Rep. Edward Roybal and other officials and celebrities.

The 51st annual parade and the official El Grito ceremonies Sept. 15, both sponsored by the Mexican Civic Patriotic Committee, will highlight a variety of celebrations over the next week. Both the parade and El Grito ceremonies will be shown on KMEX-TV.

Details and other events follow. Events are free unless indicated:

Parade--The East L.A. parade will begin at 1 p.m. at 1st and Lorena streets, going east on 1st to Gage Avenue, turning north on Gage to Brooklyn Avenue, east on Brooklyn to Mednik Avenue and south on Mednik to disband at corner of 1st Street.

El Grito--On Sept. 15, ceremonies will mark El Grito, the call for freedom from Spain that was given in 1810 by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. The ceremonies will be held outside Los Angeles City Hall, preceded by entertainment, beginning at 6 p.m. Scheduled entertainers include vocalists Alicia Juarez, Marisela and Tony Melendez, Mariachi Sol de Mexico, Little Joe and La Familia and Grupo Folklorico Nayar de Icanay from Tepic, Mexico. At 10 p.m., a giant screen will carry a transmission of ceremonies from Mexico City. Beginning at 10:40 p.m., the official Los Angeles El Grito ceremonies will take place, with the new Mexican Consul General, Fausto Zapata Loredo, Mayor Tom Bradley, City Councilman Richard Alatorre and Mike Hernandez, and Manuel Gauna Prado, president of the Mexican Civic Patriotic Committee.

Noche Mexicana--Carnival, food and music by Tierra on Saturday and Malo on Sunday; Montebello City Park, 115 S. Taylor Blvd., Montebello; 3 to 11 p.m. Sept. 11, noon to 10 p.m. Sept. 12 and 13, 3 to 10 p.m. Sept. 14; (213) 728-3488 ($3 adults, $1 seniors, children under 11 free).

Huntington Park--Food, games, dancers and music; Salt Lake Park, 3401 E. Florence St., Huntington Park; 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 17, 4 to 11 p.m. Sept. 18, noon to 11 p.m. Sept. 19, noon to 10 p.m. Sept. 20 and 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 21; (213) 585-1155 ($1 adults, 50 cents children).

Santa Ana Fiestas Patrias--Carnival, parade and international Latino musical acts come together at Santa Ana’s 4th Street celebrations; scheduled entertainers include Gloria Trevi, Chantal and Maldita Vecindad; noon to 10 p.m. Sept. 18 to 20.

Central American Festivities--Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica also will have combined Independence Day celebrations on Sunday. Parade will start at 10 a.m. at L.A. Convention Center; route to follow Pico Boulevard to Alvarado Street to Wilshire Blvd., ending at MacArthur Park; entertainment and food there, noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 13.