SANTA ANA — In a nod to the growing number of immigrants settling in Santa Ana, officials of the Mexican government are planning to create a cultural gathering place for the thousands of Mexicans who have made Orange County their new home.
La Casa de la Cultura de Mexico, or the House of Mexican Culture, would be the county's first center sanctioned by the Mexican government for arts, education and community service. It would join a similar center recently opened in Long Beach, as well as two other facilities planned in San Bernardino and Oxnard.
While no building has been chosen as a site for the center, officials intend to bring major Mexican artists and movie stars to theaters and halls in Santa Ana as soon as La Casa obtains nonprofit status, said Felipe Soria Ayusa, Mexican consul for Orange County.
Santa Ana's emergence as a leading destination for Mexican immigrants prompted the consulate to talk with local Latinos about the prospect of a government-aided cultural effort in the city, officials said.
"The Mexican government realized that there are many Mexican citizens in Orange County who want attention," said Soria, who believes the project may get nonprofit status by the end of 1993. "We want to provide cultural and educational materials so people can feel more comfortable here, since the United States is their new home."
More than 64% of Santa Ana's population of about 294,000 people are Latino, according to the 1990 Census, and some authorities believe the number may actually be higher because of undercounting. More than nine in 10 of Santa Ana's Latinos trace their origin to Mexico, the Census found, and many are considered to be recent immigrants.
Santa Ana's La Casa would be a small sibling to an established Mexican Cultural Institute in Los Angeles. Other institutes are in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno. But unlike the proposed center in Santa Ana, some of these larger institutes receive direct funding from the Mexican government.
The Mexican government says it is willing to provide the center with supplies, musical and artistic talent, and transportation between Mexico and Orange County for the artists, but it is not pledging any direct funds for operational costs. As a result, the success of the proposal may hinge on fund-raising efforts by private citizens in Santa Ana.
