Event expects crowds

     By Damon Hodge
     View staff writer
      More than 20,000 people are expected to fill Lorenzi Park on Sunday for a Cinco de Mayo celebration that will also double as a birthday party for the city's first Hispanic radio station.
      Zulema Benjamin, operations manager for the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., said crowds for the Lorenzi Park event should easily surpass last year's 20,000 mark. The park is located at 3333 W. Washington Ave.
      "We only had the AM station last year," she said.
      The Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. bought KLSQ-AM (870) five years ago. Last year, it purchased KISF-FM (103.5) and turned it into the city's top Spanish language station. Its morning show, hosted by El Cucuy -- Spanish for the "The Boogeyman" -- is No. 2 behind Howard Stern's morning show, Zulema said.
      An average of 80,300 listeners ages 12 and older tune in weekly to the FM station's Mexican regional format. KLSQ draws 25,100 listeners weekly to its adult-contemporary Spanish format. Together, the stations were No. 2 in the local market, according to Arbitron Fall 1999 ratings.
      "In addition to celebrating Cinco de Mayo, we will be using the event to celebrate the FM station's one-year anniversary," said Zulema, adding that the annual festival is the largest Hispanic and cultural event in the state.
      Cinco de Mayo activities will include music, exhibits, displays, food and a free concert. Set to perform are Los Angeles de Charly, a Billboard chart-topping group specializing in cumbia, a more tropical form of Mexican music; and Arkangel R-15, a Billboard top-20 group from Mexico that plays a Northern Mexico-influenced, big-band style similar to Spanish-country music.
      The second half of the concert features Exterminador, a Mexican regional music group with three singles in top 30, and Industria del Amor, a fast-rising, romance-oriented collective. Dance troupe Balet Folklorico Tepuchcali is scheduled to perform throughout the day.
      A dedicated children's area will have play equipment and carnival rides. Officers from the Drug Awareness Resistance Effort will be present, as will Nevada Child Seekers personnel, Zulema said.
      Staff from Reforma, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District's Hispanic Division, will read in Spanish. Mile for Smiles dentists will render needed dental help to children. Characters, face painters and balloonists will also add to the fun.
      "What a great way to celebrate a birthday," Zulema said.
      KISF became the city's first and only Spanish-language FM station when it went on the air in May 1999. It dominates every Spanish demographic, according to the Hispanic Broadcasting Corp.
      "We'll draw 20,000 people easy," said Alex Shelton, national director for sales and marketing for Elmore Sports, a sports management company that owns multiple sports-related products and produces numerous local events in Las Vegas, including June's annual two-day International Beer Festival at Summerlin's at Bruce Trent Park. "We've been involved with this event for years and it just grows year after year. I think it will continue to grow."
      Hispanics comprise 18.2 percent of the local population -- 248,100 people -- according to Strategy Resource Corp., which does independent demographic studies to aid in population counts. That percentage could change with census results, according to the Latin Chamber of Commerce.
      The Chamber said Hispanic spending power tops $6 million a day in retail sales in and $2.2 billion annually. If Hispanic Las Vegas were a city, it would be the state's third largest, according to the Chamber.
      Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo doesn't celebrate Mexican Independence Day, Zulema said. Instead, it commemorates Mexico's victory over French soldiers at the Battle of Puebla. On May 5, 1862, a battered Mexican army, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza, defeated an invading French army at the city of Puebla. The victory was a turning point for Mexico.
      The Hispanic Broadcast Corp. puts on the annual Fiestas Patrias celebration Sept. 16 to commemorate Mexican Independence Day, Zulema said. The corporation is the nation's largest Spanish language radio broadcaster with 45 stations in 12 of the top 15 Hispanic markets and Las Vegas.