ANDERSON -- Even from the parking lot, familiar sights and sounds welcomed visitors to Sunday's gathering at Anderson River Park.
Trucks sporting Chivas (goats), soccer club stickers or images of the Virgin of Guadalupe lined the path to the shady KC Grove. Music featuring lively bass guitar, trumpets and accordion carried through the trees.
It was a day of celebration for Shasta County's Latino community in observance of Mexico's Independence Day and hundreds turned out in the mild weather.
The 11th annual Latino Family Fair, hosted by the Northern Hispanic Latino Coalition and Shasta County Public Health, was a new experience for some people.
Isabel Quiros-Bush, a Simpson University Spanish instructor had come to the fair with a student from Puerto Rico and others from different locations in Mexico.
A woman in a black and white Folklorico outfit performed a traditional dance from her native Peru. Men in light weight guayabera shirts, and teens in Aztec-themed T-shirts relaxed on the grass beneath the large trees and laughed with friends or strolled with family.
Little girls in pigtails and braids danced to the music in lacey skirts and blouses of red, green and white -- the colors of Mexico's flag.
Many treated themselves to home-cooked food -- elotes or ears of roasted corn on a stick slathered with cheese and chili powder, containers of fresh fruit with chile and lime, tortas, tacos, menudo and cheviche -- all were up for grabs.
Another popular element of the annual event is the show of local equestrian skill. Well-groomed horses and riders dressed in charro suits practiced in a low lying area while dozens of spectators looked on.
A man in black led a horse through a series of precise prancing steps.
"That beautiful gray horse is a Paso from Peru where I am from," said Quiros-Bush.
Other riders performed choreographed duets on horseback and very young boys showed off their newly acquired skills.
"This is great to see and be with people," said Carmen Cisneros, 21, of Happy Valley. She worked at Shasta College's information table Sunday.
Nearby the Francesco Villanueva, 39, said he and his family, from Happy Valley, had attended the fair for years.
"It's a celebration, especially if you're Mexican," said Francesco. "And it's a day with the family to be in peace and relax," he said.
Asked what he liked best about the fair, Josh Villanueva, 15, joked that his favorite thing was the cheap food. Sister Liliana, 6, seemed to second that sentiment as she munched on a hot dog. Josh offered his brother Xavier, 12, a drink of his soda.
"No! It's root beer," Xavier refused.
Josh smiled then reflected.
"Gathering here makes for a little sense of unity."
Reporter Constance Dillon can be reached at 225-8372 or at cdillon@redding.com.
