Downtown Peoria will celebrate the Latino community that has helped shape it with a joyful festival during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Known in the past as Fiesta Peoria, ¡Somos Peoria! on Sept. 30 offers something for the whole family, including live music and dance performances, craft and food vendors and a children’s area with interactive activities.

Ray Arvizu of Arvizu Advertising and Promotions, the company helping to plan the event, said the festival not only celebrates Hispanic culture, heritage and history but Peoria as well.

“Even though it’s a cultural celebration during Hispanic Heritage Month, it gives the opportunity for Peoria to say, ‘Hey, we are proud of what we are, what we do and what our downtown’s all about,” Arvizu said.

This year, the event moves to Old Town Peoria after taking place last year at the Peoria Sports Complex. Arvizu said the move will change the event’s whole dynamic.

“I think when you do it at a city park or you do it a sports complex, it has one feel, but when you do it in the streets of downtown, it brings a different feel,” Arvizu said.

Popular rock/blues/Tex-Mex band Los Lobos, known for its rendition of “La Bamba,”  and bluesy Texas rock group Los Lonely Boys will headline the festival.

The entertainment lineup also will feature local mariachi and ballet folklorico groups and cover bands such as the Power Drive Band and New Frequency.

During the event, restaurants and food trucks will offer traditional Mexican foods such as tacos, nachos, burritos and enchiladas as well barbecue, shaved ice, frybread, French fries, ice cream and corn on the cob.

People over 21 can enjoy margaritas and beer.

During the event, craft vendors will have items for people of different ages, including traditional bracelets and blankets, T-shirts and toys.

The children’s zone will offer inflatables, carnival rides, a rock wall, a Ferris wheel and an obstacle course. 

With the purchase of VIP tickets, guests receive access to a special area near the stage with a private bar and bathrooms.

Details: 2-10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. 83rd and Grand Avenues, Peoria. Parking available at 8200 W. Peoria Ave. Shuttle from parking lot runs every 15 minutes from 5 to 11 p.m. $5 before 5 p.m. and $10 after, $35 for VIP, children 12 and under free, complimentary parking, additional costs for food, crafts and rides. peoriaaz.gov.

And check out these other Hispanic culture events around the Valley this month:

Telling Our Stories film screening

As an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, Roberto Gudino didn’t see Hispanic role models in the media and film. His quest to find notable Latino journalists and tell their stories led him to shoot a documentary about a team of journalists who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for their work on a 27-part series on Southern California’s growing Hispanic community.

On Sept. 28, Gudino, a professor, will screen that documentary, “Below the Fold,” at Scottsdale Community College. The 2007 film explores the journey and struggles of the Los Angeles Times journalists in getting their series published and winning a Pulitzer Prize.

The film looks at issues that are still relevant, such as the challenges Latinos face in being taken seriously and being given opportunities in the media. It also provides a deeper look at the journalists, whose lives include such backstories as shining shoes, migrant farm work and military service in Vietnam. 

Three of the people featured in the film, staff editor Frank Sotomayor, reporter Virginia Escalante and photographer Jose Galvez, have ties to Arizona. The documentary shares the journalists’ stories through photos, newspaper and video clips and interviews.   A reception with food and light refreshments will proceed the screening, and a Q&A with Gudino and Sotomayor will follow.

Details: 6 p.m. reception. 6:30 p.m. screening. Thursday, Sept. 28. PAC Performing Arts Center, Scottsdale Community College, 9000 E. Chaparral Road, Scottsdale. Free to attend with registration. eventbrite.com.

Hispanic Heritage Festival

The Hispanic Heritage Festival on Mesa Community College’s Clock Tower Lawn highlights different facets of Latino culture and heritage.

Visitors can expect food trucks with traditional foods, a paletas cart, a low rider car show and live performances.

The entertainment lineup includes Peruvian dancers from Sunqu Guadalupano, Mexican performer Jazmine Miranda and Desert Sounds Mariachi. DJ Danny will spin music throughout the night.  

In the college’s Student Lounge from 7 to 8 p.m., the Mesa Undocumented Students Thriving Club will host an open mic. During the event, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Azlan (MEChA), an undergraduate organization for Chicano and Latino students, will raise money by selling handmade coasters.

Details: 5-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29. Clock Tower Lawn, Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa. Free. facebook.com/events/440157463048214.

Summer’s End Margarita Mojito Festival

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month doesn’t necessarily have to be traditional. 

Get in the “spirits” by spending quality time with loved ones  trying different craft beverages. The Summer’s End Margarita Mojito Festival lets adult guests sample different types of hand-crafted margaritas, tequilas, rum-based cocktails, mojitos and craft beer.

With a tasting ticket, attendees receive 20 tastings of their choice. Local and national distributors will offer specialty drinks and liquor flavors, such as a prickly pear margarita.

Along with the festival, guests can explore Rawhide Western Town, which has gunfight shows, gold panning activities, a petting zoo, a climbing wall, wagon and train rides, a rollercoaster, a shooting gallery and a mechanical bull. During the festival, food trucks will sell sweet and savory foods, including cookies, funnel cake, ice cream, frybread, barbecue, Chinese and Mexican cuisine, Cuban sandwiches, espresso and wood-fired pizza.

Artisan craft vendors will have handmade items such as decorative wooden signs. From 5 to 9 p.m., the Damn Dirty Apes, a local rock cover band from Gilbert, will try to get crowds moving with their renditions of classic and contemporary rock songs. VIP ticketholders receive access to a tented area by the stage with sangria and salsa and chip bars. A portion of ticket sale proceeds goes to Calling All Angels Foundation, an organization that assists single parents going through cancer and chemotherapy treatments.

Details: Noon-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30. Rawhide Western Town, 5700 W. North Loop Rd., Chandler. Free entry to event, $35 for tastings, $5 for parking. margaritamojitofestival.com.

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