Downtown Santa Ana became an unlikely referendum on a year of immigration anxiety this past weekend, when more than 80,000 people turned out over two days for the city's Fiestas Patrias — a crowd that city officials say ranks among the largest Mexican Independence Day gatherings in Southern California. The number carries weight well beyond bragging rights. Orange County's only self-declared sanctuary city spent much of the past year on edge over federal immigration sweeps, yet tens of thousands of Latino families still packed Main Street, sang along to banda sets and cheered on a parade rather than staying home.
The festival ran noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday, September 12, and noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday, September 13, with the city shutting down a broad stretch of downtown — including Main, Sycamore, French, Bush, 4th and Spurgeon streets — from early Thursday morning through Monday evening, according to street-closure notices published ahead of the weekend. Entry cost nothing both days, a longstanding policy in a city where roughly three-quarters of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.
