Honoring Ortega Park

The One Community Bridge Project is presenting an afternoon of cultural entertainment honoring Santa Barbara’s historic Ortega Park at the Marjorie Luke Theater at 1pm on Saturday September 17th, 2022. The event features Grammy Award winning Chicano Folk Rock group, Quetzal. The program will also showcase La Alma de California. A band of veteran Chicano musicians featuring Ricardo Sanchez of Los Alacranes, former Los Lobos drummer Cougar Estrada, local mariachi player Juan Zaragoza and Latin Jazz bassist Ruben Martinez of the legendary Martinez Brothers. The event will kick-off with a dance performance by Grupo Folklorico Huitzillin. Santa Barbara’s DJ Frank Ramirez will MC the event.

Ortega Park has recently been revived as a cultural and historic destination on Santa Barbara’s Eastside.  The recent effort to save 18 indigenous and Chicano themed murals grabbed the attention of supporters locally and afar. The effort forced the City of Santa Barbara to rethink its redevelopment of the park to include a master plan specifically for preserving the community based murals. The park has also taken on a resurgence through the efforts of Occupy Ortega through socially conscious events and services with the support of the the Ortega Park Youth Brigade and the Ethnic Studies club at Santa Barbara High School.

The One Community Bridge Project was awarded funding to promote the park through cultural enrichment programs. This event at the Marjorie Luke Theater kicks off it’s efforts to produce and organize similar events highlighting the parks history and the true diversity of Santa Barbara.