SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The City of Sacramento is working to attract more people to Cesar Chavez Memorial Plaza in downtown Sacramento. That, primarily, includes Latino and Hispanic people and their families.
Cesar Chavez Memorial Plaza sits on 2.5 acres. It comes with a café, fountain, picnic areas, seasonal farmer's markets and summer concerts. Even though the plaza is named after activist Cesar Chavez, it does not currently offer public events highlighting Latino people, history and culture.
Angel Rodriguez, who's a first-generation Mexican American, lives in Midtown. He mainly visits the plaza to grab food or coffee at La Cosecha Mexican restaurant. Rodriguez says he wants more educational and cultural events at the park.
"There's nothing really cultural that happens at the park," Rodriguez said. "I would love for there to be more awareness of the park. There's so much that we can do in the park to attract our people."
For the last three months, the City of Sacramento has been meeting with leaders in Hispanic and Latino communities to help revitalize the plaza.
The stakeholder group includes the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, Mexican Cultural Center of Northern California, Casa de Espanol, Sacramento Downtown Partnership, Ernesto Delgado Hospitality Group, and Latino Economic Council of Sacramento.
Together, the group plans to hold "Family Day" at the park. It will feature entertainment, food vendors and screenings of classic Mexican films - many in Spanish with English subtitles.
Screenings will highlight movies from the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema - the 1930s through the late 1950s. It's an era of timeless stars, legendary directors and critically acclaimed film classics.
"We want to make sure that Cesar Chavez Plaza is a place for families," said Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem Eric Guerra. "We're going to have entertainment and vendors. As soon as the sun goes down, we're going to start movie. It's the good old-fashioned, black and white, Mexican cinema."
The first Family Day event will be held at the plaza on Friday at 6:30 p.m. with a screening of the film "Una Familia de Tantas." The event is free and open to the public.