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The city of San Jose in Northern California is hosting the weeklong, 18th Annual San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival from Sept. 21-27.
Whatever your heritage, organizers say, all are welcome to learn about Mexican culture and its ties to the environment.
There will be concerts, cultural celebrations and workshops in Mexican music, dance, slow food cooking and sustainable design.
Bill and Athena Steen, a husband and wife team, will be holding a hands-on workshop at the Peralta Adobe, the site of a project to restore San Jose's oldest home. The Steens specialize in straw bale and adobe design --- traditional green building techniques that have been used in Mexico for hundreds of years.
Another workshop will feature chefs Jenny Huston and Toni Moore, experts on natural, healthy, sustainable food preparation using locally grown ingredients.
The festival's theme is the legacy of Cesar Chavez. Musicians who share the late Latino leader's commitment to social justice will play, including Joan Baez, Carlos Santana, Los Lobos and Little Joe y La Familia.
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| Poster Courtesy of The Arnone Group |
Linda Ronstadt, the festival's artistic director, says the event offers "the whole enchilada."
Mexican Heritage Corp., Team San Jose, the Fairmont Hotel and the Wyndham Hotel are offering travel packages.
San Jose's Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival is the largest of its kind in the country.
There's even light rail from the Wyndham to festival concerts, to lower your carbon footprint and eliminate "where do I park?" problems.
Festival revenue also supports a good cause --- the Heritage Corp.'s music and dance education programs, which are taught in San Jose public schools, along with the Mexican Heritage Plaza, Children's Discovery Museum and local community centers.
If you're undecided on whether to go, or find out more, try playing "Six Degrees of Mariachi."
It works like the Kevin Bacon game, and aims to demonstrate that "in reality, it is the mariachis that are at the center of the entertainment universe, and in fact, hold the key to world peace, harmony and understanding," the event's Web site says.
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