Mother’s Weekend

FULLERTON —  Aztec dancers performed, tamales were served and kids recited poems and sang songs in Spanish on Saturday as celebrants brought alive a revered Latin American holiday known as Dia de Las Madres.

“In Mexico and in other parts of Central America, May 10 always is Mother’s Day,” said Fullerton resident Fernando Saucedo, 70, who took part in the festivities with his wife at La Escuelita del Pueblo. “It’s our custom and our duty to thank our mothers and show how esteemed they are on this day. But, it doesn’t really matter whether you celebrate on May 10 or the second Sunday of the fifth month because mothers are important every day.”

He said it was fitting that La Escuelita, a makeshift school in the Truslow neighborhood where hundreds of people receive free English lessons on the weekends, staged the celebration.

“In Mexico, all the schools and colleges hold grand ceremonies to honor mothers,” said Saucedo, who was born in that country. “This reminds me of my homeland’s traditions.”

Monique Lozano, 21, propped her 2-year-old son in her lap as the two watched a dancing trio perform for her and the other mothers in attendance.

“This event makes me feel appreciated,” she said. “It’s nice to be recognized.”

Jimmy Ramos, the founder and head teacher of La Escuelita, said he organized the celebration because “mothers are working every single day and every single minute to care for us.”

Raised by his grandmother after his parents died in a car accident when he was just a year old, Ramos said the event also paid special tribute to single mothers who don’t always get the respect they deserve.

“We wanted to let them know that we support them and want to help them be successful,” said Ramos, 24.

After several poets recited poems dedicated to the mothers, 7-year-old Ricardo Torres took the microphone to wish his mom a happy day.

Offstage, the boy, who has six sisters and six brothers, said: “I want my mom to be happy because she gets tired a lot taking care of all of us. She’s the best mom. She’s nice to us. She washes our clothes, brushes our hair, cooks our food and gives us hugs and kisses. She really loves us.”

While scores of people celebrated at La Escuelita, thousands more across Orange County placed phone calls to their mothers in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Long-distance telephone operators said Saturday that all circuits to those countries were overloaded because of the holiday, which is as busy as Christmas in the United States.

Traditional Mexican celebrations will continue today, Mother’s Day in the United States, at Santa Ana High School.

Mothers will be honored and treated to mariachi music, poetry readings and harp music. The event begins at 2 p.m. and all mothers are invited, organizer Manuel Esqueda said.

“In the Latino culture, Mother’s Day is a very sacred thing for us,” Esqueda said. “As custom, it’s a time to extend love, affection and respect to the person who put us on this earth. . . . Mothers play the most important role in encouraging their youngsters. That’s why we are going to pay tribute to them. We have not forgotten our traditions.”

Rosario Trefren, 40, of Anaheim, said she realized what a treasure her mother was when she became a mother herself.

“I finally recognized how important motherhood is,” she said. “I love my kids and would do anything for them. I’m always there for them, setting the best example I can for them. That’s what mothers do.”