Dave Acosta

El Paso Times

El Paso has its own style, its own flavor, its own traditions ... and its own nickname, “El Chuco.”

Memorial Day weekend, Chuco Fest will celebrate all that at Wet-n-Wild Waterworld with live music, a custom car and bike show and Mexican lucha libre.

And of course, it wouldn’t be Chuco Fest without the zoot suiters, or pachucos, who gave the city its nickname.

“The idea is really just to do a local music festival and showcase what is unique about El Paso,” said Conan Edwards, who works in the marketing department at the Anthony water park and one of the festival organizers. “We started thinking about the pachuco culture that exists and a lot of other things that came to mind.”

Edwards said that it's important to remember that Memorial Day is about honoring America's veterans, many of whom are Mexican-Americans. He said part of the idea behind Chuco Fest is honoring the men and women that served our country and tying that into El Paso's culture.

Edwards said that soon after the idea of Chuco Fest came up, radio station KLAQ offered to bring in national acts to continue its Memorial Day weekend tradition of rock concerts at Wet-n-Wild on Saturday, in addition to the local rock, oldies and Spanish bands that radio station 92.3 The Fox on-air DJ Mike Guerrero helped to book for the rest of the weekend.

Guerrero will broadcast his popular Sunday oldies show live from the water park.

Rock on the Water

With the El Paso Balloon Festival moving to Bowen Ranch this year, giving the festival a more local and family friendly flavor, KLAQ general manager Brad Dubow thought it was important to keep the tradition of bringing nationally known rock bands to Wet-n-Wild during Memorial Day weekend.

With that in mind, Rock on the Water, which takes place Saturday during Day 1 of Chuco Fest, was born.

The concert will feature the hard rock and heavy-metal bands Pop Evil, Red Sun Rising, Shaman’s Harvest and Stitched Up Heart. The concert, as well as the rest of Chuco Fest weekend’s activities, is included with the price of admission to the water park.

Slow and low

Two El Paso Sunday traditions that still live on are oldies on the radio and cruising in custom cars and lowriders.

On Sunday, Chuco Fest will feature a car show, featuring lowriders and other customized vehicles, as well as lowrider bikes.

“(Lowriders) go with our culture,” said Mando Espinoza, a member of the group EPT Cruising, which keeps area car enthusiasts informed of car shows happening in the area. “Since I was small, I loved the lowriding lifestyle. Everybody has their own way of customizing cars. Some people like hot rods or four-by-fours. I like the low cars. It’s just the Hispanic community; it’s a way of life that fits us and a way to have fun and relax.”

Espinoza said the car show will feature more than 30 cars and bikes, as well as a “car-hopping” contest between customized cars, which often feature hydraulic systems that get the cars and their fans bouncing.

The day also will feature zoot suit performances by the local group Pachuco 915. Zoot suit enthusiasts take part in local events, dancing, taking photos with fans and strutting their stuff, to raise money for people in need of financial assistance for medical costs.

“Pachuco 915 was started about 18 years ago,” Oscar Gonzalez, a longtime member, said. “The group is an association of pachucos. There’s a big movement in the style nationwide and worldwide. The pachuco style started off in El Paso and migrated to Los Angeles, where the name changed to zoot suiters.

“In Juárez, pachucos danced in the plazas back in the day, and they used to compete to see who could dance for the longest. My parents won a few competitions. I just picked it up and haven’t let go since then. Back then, everybody considered it rebellious, a gang youth movement and now some of us; myself, I’m college educated. We have veterans, one young one getting his master's in Chicano history. We portray the education and also the progress within the Hispanic community.”

Gonzalez said the group will be raising money for Anthony resident Amanda Gomez who is in need of a kidney transplant.

Lucha libre

The final day of Chuco Fest will feature the high-flying acrobatics of Mexican wrestling.

According to organizer Francisco Delgado, the tradition of masked luchadores and their acrobatic style started here in El Paso and Juárez.

“The Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (Mexico City’s largest wrestling association and the oldest wrestling association in the world) was founded by a famous businessman, Salvador Lutteroth,” Delgado said. “He saw his first lucha libre match in El Paso in 1929, and then he took the idea to Mexico City.”

Delgado said there will be five lucha libre bouts on Monday, featuring three Mexico City luchadores – Atlantis, El Diamante and El Hijo de Cobarde – and Japanese wrestler Pocumaru.

“The mask is an important part of Hispanic-American culture,” Delgado said. “It was part of the culture of Mayan dance and Aztec dances to the gods.”

Dave Acosta may be reached at 546-6138; dacosta@elpasotimes.com; @AcostaDavidA on Twitter.

Make plans

What: Chuco Fest.

Where: Wet-n-Wild Waterworld, 8804 S. Desert, Anthony, Texas.

When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday through Monday.

Tickets: $24.99 general admission per day, which includes all Wet-n-Wild Waterworld rides; $15 per day in advance; free with Wet-n-Wild Waterworld season pass. Tickets available online at holdmyticket.com.

Information: 886-2222; wetnwildwaterworld.com; klaq.com/events-el-paso/rock-on-the-water/28-may-2016-wet-n-wild-waterworld.