Traditions – old and new – will be in the spotlight this weekend with Mexican Independence Day celebrations throughout North Texas.

MONA REEDER/DMN

Cristina Silva, 17, balanced a tray with glasses of water atop her head as she and Mirna Ramirez, 23, prepared for a performance Friday with Mexico 2000 Ballet Folklorico. The fiesta at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas continues today.

Among the scheduled festivities is a fiesta at Pike Park in Dallas, where the 16th of September has been observed for more than 70 years. Across downtown, another party is being held at one of the newest community landmarks, the Latino Cultural Center.

Diez y Seis marks the day in 1810 when Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla issued a call to arms from the steps of the parish church in the city of Dolores Hidalgo. The call sparked Mexico's war for independence from Spain.

In the U.S., Sept. 16 is among the focal points of Hispanic Heritage Month, which continues through Oct. 15. Several other Latin American countries celebrate their independence during that time.

"We would like to bring awareness that our traditions still continue and that we are always working on ways to modify them and keep up with the times," said Milagros Lozano, a member of the Pike Park advisory council, which is sponsoring a Diez y Seis event with the city's Park and Recreation Department.

The park, at 2807 Harry Hines Blvd., used to be the heart of a thriving community known as Little Mexico, where the city's first Hispanic residents settled. The neighborhood is virtually gone now, replaced by new commercial and residential development.

But, Ms. Lozano said, members of the park council believe it is important to keep a celebration going at the site because it holds such a special place in the history of Latinos in Dallas.

This year's celebration, which begins with a parade from downtown Dallas to the park, is taking place from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Ms. Lozano said she is especially pleased that this year's Pike Park celebration will feature the crowning of a queen and king. She noted that selection of a queen – no king was picked back then – was a big part of the early celebrations.

"It's pretty exciting for us. We're very glad to be able to bring that tradition back," Ms. Lozano said.

Hortencia Martinez Stickle, who was queen in 1942, will be crowning this year's winners, selected from high school seniors who submitted essays on Hispanic heritage. Each will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

"The war was going on in 1942 when I was queen, and they pretty much stopped doing it after that because of the war," Ms. Stickle said.

Festivities at the Latino Cultural Center, just east of downtown, started Friday with food, entertainment and special programs.

This is the second year that the Federation of Mexican Organizations has been involved in putting on the fiesta at the cultural center, although the federation has produced Diez y Seis celebrations for 69 years in Dallas, most of them at Pike Park.

The center's celebration continues today from noon until 8 p.m.

"The last few years have been a little difficult, as many of the organizations that used to be members of our group are having their own celebrations," said Catalina Valdez Scott, president of the federation. "But I feel it's important to keep the tradition going. It's been part of me for 46 years."

She recalls attending the fiesta at Pike Park as a girl, dressed in traditional costume, as her mother sold enchiladas from a food booth.

"That's why I want to keep the tradition alive as long as I can," Ms. Scott said.

She said she is glad that the event helps bring to the Latino Cultural Center some of the area's residents who may not be familiar with the facility. The colorful center, which had been planned for decades, opened three years ago and now is the focus of many of the community's cultural and artistic events.

In addition to food and craft vendors, Ms. Scott said, the center's fiesta will include theater productions for children, feature films, singers and dancers. One highlight will be the debut of a new telenovela called Nuestro Barrio.

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