Anonymous - 7-9-2005 at 10:25 AM
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20050709-9...
Band will headline center fundraiser
By Sandra Dibble
July 9, 2005
TIJUANA ? It's not the first group of musicians you'd expect to hear on the city's 116th birthday: an Italian police band.
The Banda Musicale della Polizia di Stato has flown in from Rome to partake in anniversary festivities that include bullfights, open-air concerts and
a caravan of decorated cars.
The 102-member symphonic band, led by conductor Maurizio Billi, will be featured at tomorrow's gala fundraiser at the city's oldest public park,
Teniente Guerrero Park in downtown Tijuana. City Hall has sold more than 1,600 tickets at $300 apiece for the event.
"We wanted to bring a different kind of spectacle," said Mar?a Elvia Amaya de Hank, in San Diego this week to promote the event.
Also performing will be the Baja California Orchestra, conducted by Angel Romero, and Tijuana's own police band, Los Tenientes de Tijuana.
Spearheaded by Amaya, wife of Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rhon, the open-air concert is a fundraiser for a future community service center intended to
serve some of the city's poorest residents.
The Italian band agreed to perform for free after learning of the city's needs, Amaya said. She said she hopes to raise as much as $370,000 toward
building the center, expected to cost about $650,000. The proposed center will offer day care, tutoring and other services for residents of eastern
Tijuana.
Private businesses have sponsored the festivities, including Calimax supermarkets, Hank's own Grupo Caliente and Sycuan Casino in San Diego.
At other city parks tomorrow, concerts will be free. Longtime Tijuana bands such as Los Moonlights and Los Rocking Devils will be performing at
Morelos Park starting at 9 p.m. Also performing at the park will be Tijuana guitarist Javier Batiz, an early mentor of Grammy winner Carlos Santana.
Preparations for the festivities have not been without controversy. To get ready for Sunday's concert, the city ripped out 15 trees from Teniente
Guerrero Park, a patch of green that stirs fond memories in longtime residents. That drew an outcry from some quarters and explanations from city
officials that the removed trees were ailing or dead and needed to be taken out.