Hispanic singer draws smaller crowd at fair

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By Zach Pluhacek/Lincoln Journal Star

A predominantly Latino audience trickled into the half-filled venue as Jorge Hernandez, “El Guero (Blondie),” took the stage just after 7 p.m. Sunday at the Nebraska State Fair.

In contrast, people had packed around the fence surrounding the Open-Air Auditorium Friday before country musician Miranda Lambert had played her first note.

A capacity crowd of 6,200 had filled the benches on Friday, and 5,800 came Saturday to hear two other country artists.

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LINCOLN, NE -- 08/23/2008 -- Mary Lou and Gerald Ochsner of Sutton sit in the Open Air Auditorium watching Kusi Taki perform Andean Folk Music during the Fiesta Latina Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska State Fair. Gerald, now 72, has been coming to the Fair for the past 60 years and, he "came to hear some music one last time before the Fair moves," he said. MICHAEL PAULSEN/LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR

LINCOLN, NE -- 08/23/2008 -- Mary Lou and Gerald Ochsner of Sutton sit in the Open Air Auditorium watching Kusi Taki perform Andean Folk Music during the Fiesta Latina Sunday afternoon at the Nebraska State Fair. Gerald, now 72, has been coming to the Fair for the past 60 years and, he "came to hear some music one last time before the Fair moves," he said. MICHAEL PAULSEN/LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR

Theories on why Sunday’s crowd was smaller and slower to form ranged from fear of immigration officials to the different cultural tradition of Latinos.

Hernandez, the performer, speculated on the fear, adding that his music is well known among Latinos in Nebraska.

“A lot of people are scared to keep on going to parties,” he said before the show.

A big reason, Hernandez said, is the chance — however slight — that there might be an immigration raid. Hernandez said he has seen it happen before.

His band, El Guero Y Su Banda Centenario, has a Billboard Top Ten hit. All five of the band’s albums have made it into the Top 20  on Billboard’s charts.

Hernandez says his tunes get plenty of radio play on Nebraska’s Spanish stations.

Don Adams, State Fair production manager, estimated Sunday’s crowd would peak at most at around 1,500 to 2,000 people.

About 15 minutes into Hernandez’s set, it was clear it hadn’t met the estimate.

The crowd had been sparse most of the day in the auditorium, reserved for Fiesta Latina, the fair’s Latino and Latin American cultural celebration.

Julie Burton, entertainment director for the fair, said last year’s Latino event more or less filled the auditorium.

Sunday night’s slowly gathering crowd wasn’t a surprise, she said.

“This audience seems to come more at their leisure, maybe, and stay longer,” Burton said.

Hernandez — a bilingual Mexican immigrant — agreed.

“I think it’s just a cultural thing,” he said, shrugging off the poor turnout.

Fair organizers try to find something for everyone, Burton said.

She expects today’s showing of Boyz II Men will appeal to audiences across both age and cultural boundaries and sell out easily.

That’s another 6,200 on the benches, plus those likely to gather near the fence.

“In this case,” Hernandez admitted before his show Sunday, “I don’t see a lot of people.”

Reach Zach Pluhacek at 473-7306 or zpluhacek@journalstar.com.