A cultural feast

Maria Garcia wrestled with whether to buy a small brown leather purse painted with blue flowers just like the one her Grandma Chavela gave her from Mexico.

"Seeing this reminds us of our childhood," Garcia said as she eyed rosaries, caramel Cajeta candy and Mexican Loteria games at the Sonoma County Fair.

For a moment in time, Garcia, of Santa Rosa, felt a connection to her cultural past, an appeal that is drawing Latinos in ever greater numbers to the fair even as overall attendance has been in decline.

The iconic event that for decades defined the agricultural identity of Sonoma County has evolved to include a stronger Latino presence in food, entertainment and events such as the Mexican Rodeo, Batalla de Grupos (battle of the bands) and today's Mexican Fiesta.

"Each year, you see more and more Hispanic families walking through the fair's gates," fair board member Gerald Villareal said.

"Every year, we seem to get a smaller portion of the general population," he said. "People are not growing up with the fair like they did a generation ago."

The fair does not keep records on the ethnic background of people who attend, but Sonoma County Fair publicist Marlina Harrison said the stronger Latino presence reflects Sonoma County's demographics. She estimates one in four visitors is Latino.

Mayra Espinoza of Santa Rosa said the fair is a lot like celebrations held in Pueblos all over Latin America.

She brings her 3-year-old daughter Celeste to give her a taste of her Latin culture.

"These are her roots," Espinoza said. "Her roots are Latin."

The fair tries to capture the greatest audience by offering a wide variety of entertainment, Villareal said. This is important, he said, because attendance is not what it was 30 years ago.

In the 1970s, attendance for some years exceeded 400,000, but since then it has declined steadily. This decade, attendance was slightly more than 345,000 in 2006 and fell last year to below 320,000. This year, attendance was up by 3.6 percent during the first week of the fair.

Harrison noted that Latinos in Sonoma County tend to be younger compared to other groups.

"Who's more likely to go the fair," Harrison said. "The 20-year-old or the 40-year-old?"

Even younger and more likely to ride the Ferris wheel or eat cotton candy are Latino schoolchildren, who make up nearly a third of Sonoma County's K-12 students.

Overall, the fair's attraction is that it is a family-oriented event, which appeals to everyone, Harrison said.

"It's perceived that we have differences, but they really don't exist," she said. "We all go to the fair."

Safety is a common concern for everyone who attends and special attention is paid to possible gang-related altercations, officials said. There was a strong police and security presence after two Latino youths stabbed a 13-year-old boy in the carnival area on the first day of the fair.

Fair Manager Tawny Tesconi said that the perception of violence may have been enough to keep some people away, but she believes most understand it was an isolated incident.

Villareal said fair officials started adding Hispanic entertainment about 20 years ago, and the fair now includes three to four events annually, from rodeos to fiestas.

This year's Hispanic entertainment reached out to a broad segment of the Latino community.

Young Latinas swooned over the teenage singers in the Latin pop band Menudo and members of older generations listened to traditional mariachi and Norteño bands.

County fairs across the country are competing with mega-attractions such as Disney World while vying for the attention of diverse demographics, said Mike Robinson, president of La Verdad Marketing and Media in Ohio.

He was commissioned by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board to analyze demographics, education, and business as it relates to Latinos.

"The county fair is an American institution that is suffering," he said. "They are learning that they are going to have to reinvent themselves."

Sonoma's fair is now a combination of old favorites -- such as hot dogs, cheesy fries and ice cream -- and options that include tamales, tacos and tortas.

Sandra Ledesma of San Diego sells Mexican novelties at the fair and said many Latinos in the United States are thousands of miles away from parents and other family members and hearing the music they were raised with or eating the candy they ate as children produces the same reaction.

"They breathe a spiritual sigh," she said in Spanish. "It makes them remember their childhood, their roots and their family."

Karla Raza of Santa Rosa said she feels more accepted because of the Latin influences she's found at the fair. She too brings her daughter to enjoy the festive atmosphere.

"We're not so segregated," she said. "It seems like people are finally taking notice of us."

You can reach Staff Writer Tracie Morales at 521-5274

or tracie.morales@

pressdemocrat.com.