Jose Aponte

A popular, acclaimed series of Saturday night jazz and ethnic performances at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library will end Aug. 7 unless librarian Jose Aponte can raise about $20,000 in private money to keep it alive. The series is slated for elimination as part of the county's budget cutting. Aponte doesn't disagree with the decision. "These are really tough times for libraries," he said.

For the ancient Aztecs, huayucaltia meant unity and brotherhood. But it also defines the musical mission of a five-member group performing tonight at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library. Huayucaltia, (pronounced why-yoo-call-TEE-ah), a band of musicians from Peru, Colombia, Mexico and the United States, performs original compositions based on Latin American rhythms passed down through the ages.

"It will be like a conversation, a creative exchange of ideas," said Latin jazz artist Justo Almario, who performs today with Marcos Ariel at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library. "Just piano and woodwinds. Very intimate." The concert by Almario, who is from Colombia, and Ariel, from Brazil, will give Orange County Latin jazz enthusiasts a taste of South American rhythms that the artists say are not commonly heard in the United States. "It's not the usual club setting," said Ariel.

Owners of a nursing home and two rehabilitation services have come to the rescue of Roberto Sanchez Morales, the 24-year-old Mexican national who requires intensive therapy after a car crash in August. Morales was transferred on Friday from Tustin Hospital Medical Center to Park Tustin Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Santa Ana owned by Regency Health Services, a Newport Beach-based chain of nursing and rehabilitation homes.

When Jose Aponte's son Pablo, 9, asked to learn more about his Puerto Rican and Indian roots, Aponte read books about both cultures to the boy--in Spanish. "You can be the most educated people in the world, but if you don't have a book, you can't answer questions," said Aponte, who is one of a few bilingual librarians in the county. "A library can fill the cultural, educational and informational needs of its community."

It has a familiar look but with a twist, said a visitor from Inglewood after her first look recently at the pastel-colored San Juan Capistrano Regional Library. "It's a mission style but different, maybe a New Mexico mission style," said Marie Calamaria, standing outside the 7-year-old building.

"Compared to other forms of drama, performance art is often thought of as inaccessible and overly artsy," said Amy Hill, who performs her one-woman show "Tokyo Bound" tonight at the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library. "I prefer to think of it as storytelling, something that has been with us through the ages and a part of every culture."

A California Arts Council advisory panel has recommended a $21,225 Challenge grant for Laguna Art Museum but has rejected a $37,125 Challenge grant request from the Pacific Symphony.

After three years of seeking, with limited backing, to broaden South Orange County's artistic horizons as programming director for the San Juan Capistrano Regional Library's Multicultural Arts Series, Sundarajan Mutialu is striking out on his own. The Fiji-born Mutialu has helped launch the Multicultural Arts Society (MAS), a nonprofit organization aimed at providing affordable arts events that bridge world cultures.

Fortune smiled on the Kennedy High School boys' soccer team Wednesday. By virtue of an unexpected--if not questionable--goal, the Fighting Irish remained in control of their destiny in the Garden Grove League. True, Kennedy could only manage a 1-1 tie at Pacifica, but in this case, a tie was as good as a victory. The Fighting Irish (10-3-4, 6-0-2 in league play) need only to win their remaining four games for the league title.