Thousands celebrate Mexican independence at Las Vegas parade

In Las Vegas, especially along the Strip, much of what you buy is marked up because you're supposed to be honored to be part of the outdoor party - whether it's throwing down $40 to gain entrance to an after-hours club or drinking a $7 latte at one of the Starbucks in the casinos.

You'd be hard-pressed to find anything free these days, what with the economy the way it is and all the people hurting.

But three young Las Vegans threw a massive party for free Saturday for Mexican Independence Day, entertaining an estimated 20,000 folks with a parade full of floats, loads of music and old-fashioned fun that endured well into the evening.

In short, it was one big block party in downtown Las Vegas with no admission fee, an event organized by Anastacio Del Real, Rocio Ledesma and Sheila Macias.

Two years ago, they founded ¡Fiesta! Las Vegas, the organization that planned the party.

MUCH EFFORT, MONEY REQUIRED

If there ever was a grass-roots movement, theirs would be it, only their motivation is cultural, not political. Saturday's festivities, when all was said and done, took an entire year to plan. The trio had to recruit sponsors, sign contracts, file for permits, arrange for security and persuade musical divas to fly in from Mexico City and Los Angeles.

And what exactly was their reason for contributing countless hours without pay while holding down regular 9-to-5 jobs?

"We're all one big, proud melting pot, and it's hard to find organized events in Las Vegas where Latinos can get together and have fun," said Del Real, a self-described Mexican-American who works as the cultural specialist for the city of Las Vegas.

Macias, in charge of the business end of the operation, said a few months ago her cousin noticed she was hard at work, burning up the telephone lines and logging onto the computer, at which point he asked her what she was up to.

She explained it to him.

"He was, like, 'You mean, you just came up with this idea, then you carried it out? Just like that? For real?' "

For real.

While the Mexican Independence Day party was free to the people, it certainly wasn't free to put on, said Rocio Ledesma, the festival's director of operations.

The total tab came to $75,000, which was paid for with the help of heavy-hitting sponsors who stepped up and supported the cause: Cox Communications and La Bonita Supermarkets.

And the way the trio sees it, it's money well spent. The companies got loads of advertising, and earned new customers, perhaps, while throwing a community wide celebration.

At last count, according to the 2010 census, of the 1.9 million people living in Clark County, 30 percent of residents identified themselves as Hispanic. The majority of them are of Mexican descent.

To give you a sense of how large the Latino community is without throwing out numbers, consider this: La Bonita Supermarket started out nearly two decades ago as a tiny, family-run grocery store. Today, it's expanded to five locations.

MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

For those unfamiliar with the Latino passion for their culture and heritage, think about the !Fiesta! Las Vegas' motivations this way: It'd be like a bunch of hard-core Irish getting together and organizing a St. Patrick's Day parade in a town devoid of any St. Patrick's Day festivals.

Or better yet, a bunch of Americans getting together to celebrate the Fourth of July in a city where few people realize what the Fourth of July is.

In this case the catalyst was Mexico's Independence Day, officially observed today . The celebration usually lasts a week in Mexico, which is why this week Spanish will be heard often along the Strip, spoken by many a Mexican national who flew in for the holiday, maybe to see Maná, a popular rock band, perform at the MGM Grand today , or the big boxing match between Mexico's boxing native son, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and Argentina's Sergio Martinez.

While Mexican Independence Day is a big affair, there were plenty of historical independence movements from Central and South America that were melded into Saturday's festival. Those independence movements occurred in the early to mid-1800s, against Spain, which had colonized the New World nations since the days of Hernán Cortés, the Spanish explorer who in the second decade of the 1500s conquered Cuba and large parts of mainland Mexico.

Different national heroes and revolutionaries wearied of Spanish colonial presence, much as early American colonists grew tired of the British.

In Mexico's case, the hero was Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest who yelled "Que Viva, Mexico!" in the early morning hours of Sept. 16, 1810.

It was a shout that's commonly known as "el grito." It incited revolutionaries to start their war against Spain, and it carries the same sort of significance as Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty, or give me death!"

It's a shout that is re-enacted every year in Mexican communities. Here, that honor fell to Mariano Lemus Gas, the general consul for the Mexican Consulate in Las Vegas.

When he shouted 'Que Viva Mexico!" at the celebration at the Fremont Street Experience, the crowd cheered.

Contact reporter Tom Ragan at tragan @reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512.