The Santanero

09/15/2025

Here’s the agenda preview for Tuesday 9/16’s city council meeting.

09/15/2025

Every September comes the joyous occasion of celebrating Mexican pride, culture and togetherness. As many locals know, no one else comes close to throwing a block party than our own Santa Ana. But this year is different.

Federal immigration enforcement has played an enormous part in severing crowds this Mexican Independence Day, but the fact of the matter is that the People—la Raza—still showed up in a great display of resilience. Their presence became an act of resilience, proof that unity thrives even when fear tries to divide.

As the parade rolled forward, so did the spirit of Santa Ana. Thousands filled the streets draped in the green, white, and red of the Mexican flag, mingled with flashes of yellow, pink, orange, and blue. Together, they turned the city into a moving mural of joy and defiance.

Elected officials, community groups, and residents proudly represented every corner of Mexico, marching with banners, music, and tradition. The celebration carried into Calle Cuatro, where chinelo dancers spun through the streets and local organizations, vendors, and the carnival welcomed families to continue the party.
Still, the difference in turnout was hard to miss.

But by the day’s end, one truth stood out: Santa Ana’s strength is its people. In the face of fear and challenge, they chose to celebrate, to stand together, and to remind the world that independence is not just a date — it’s a living tradition.

See the special issue for free at our website at santanero.org/issues
📝📸: Daniel Diaz/The Santanero

08/11/2025

It’s the first day of school for Santa Ana Unified. Beware of traffic, delays, and detours!

07/29/2025

there’s a special meeting today for Santa Ana Unified 💫 also we’re tired of making new gmails for free trials so consider helping us with our gofundme:)

07/25/2025

Narciso Barranco spoke publicly for the first time since his violent detainment by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents last month, in which several agents pinned him down as one other threw punches to his head and back, all caught on tape.

He was joined by his wife, attorney Lisa Ramirez, a priest from the Diocese of Orange, Sandra de Anda of the Orange County Rapid Response Network, as well as city officals from Santa Ana and the City of Orange, and county leaders.

This is a developing story and an update on this is forthcoming.

07/24/2025

Here’s the school board meeting recap for July 22, 2025.

The Board was 27 minutes late to start the meeting. Since we haven’t kept up on their tardiness, we are restarting the clock to this meeting. As for behavior, all members expressed their thoughts in a ‘let’s focus’ manner which is good to see. Despite Lebsack’s continuing criticism regarding gender ideology and etcetera and Bustos doubling-down, the Board in all was able to keep it together.

: Aquí está el resumen de la reunión de la junta escolar del 22 de julio de 2025.

La junta llegó 27 minutos tarde al inicio de la reunión. Dado que no hemos mantenido un registro de sus tardanzas, estamos reiniciando el cronómetro para esta reunión. En cuanto al comportamiento, todos los miembros expresaron sus ideas con un tono de “concentrémonos”, lo cual es positivo. A pesar de las constantes críticas de Lebsack sobre la ideología de género, etc., y de la insistencia de Bustos, la junta logró mantener la calma.

: Sau đây là tóm tắt cuộc họp hội đồng nhà trường ngày 22 tháng 7 năm 2025.

Hội đồng đã đến muộn 27 phút để bắt đầu cuộc họp. Vì chúng tôi chưa kịp cập nhật tình hình, nên chúng tôi sẽ tính lại thời gian cho cuộc họp này. Về mặt hành vi, tất cả các thành viên đều bày tỏ quan điểm theo tinh thần “hãy tập trung”, điều này rất đáng mừng. Mặc dù Lebsack liên tục chỉ trích về tư tưởng giới tính, vân vân, và Bustos vẫn khăng khăng phản đối, nhưng nhìn chung, Hội đồng vẫn giữ được sự đoàn kết.

07/23/2025

The Santa Ana Unified School District Board unanimously approved on Tuesday the promotion of Dr. Atikah Osman to principal of Saddleback High School.

She succeeds Edward Bustamante, who served in the role for nearly a decade before being elevated to Assistant Superintendent of Student Services in June.

Additionally, the Board voted 5-0 in favor of appointing John W. Bennett of Villa Intermediate as the new principal of Segerstrom High School, following the removal of community-beloved and former principal, David Casper.

07/22/2025

Thinking of going to the OC Fair this summer? Here’s a cheapskate’s guide into what lies ahead :)

07/22/2025

The Santanero is one-fifth of the way there! Thank for to the 132 individuals who have gifted us a donation so far! If you can’t donate right now, it’s okay! You can still help support our fundraiser by reposting to your story :)

GoFundMe link in bio OR you can go to GoFundMe’s search bar and type ‘The Santanero’ and it will pop up. If you’d like to see what we intend to use the money for, go to www.santanero.org/transparency. We also have Venmo for those electing to use that platform, our username is .

07/21/2025

Here’s what we’re monitoring ahead of Tuesday’s school board meeting.

EN ESPAÑOL: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMY2W99yJIk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Bằng tiếng Việt: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMY2m_7y_Is/

Here's what The Santanero is monitoring ahead of Tuesday's school board meeting.

07/18/2025

Here’s the recap for July 15th’s city council meeting.

In this week’s city council recap, the Council voted 6-0 to join a federal lawsuit against the feds due to warrantless arrests of folks by ICE and other agencies.

They also agreed to have a special meeting regarding changes to the Police Oversight Commission, but not just with themselves but with everyone that has a part in those changes, from Police Chief Rodriguez to the newly hired Police Oversight Director, the City Attorney’s office and more. The meeting will be held within 60 days.

Amezcua disclosed to the public Tuesday of three officer-initiated complaints to Human Resources that centered around Councilmember Hernandez, accusing him of starting a hostile work environment. While it’s not yet known who filed the complaints, Hernandez has been vocal about officer misconduct on the dais in recent weeks. MiSantaAna and him also have exchanged intense dialogue with the social page threatening to file a harassment complaint against him, even use for defamation.

After 25 years working with the City of Santa Ana, Nabil Saba is retiring from his position as Executive Director of the Public Works Agency, responsible for overseeing five divisions (among other things) to keep the city’s infrastructure afloat.

The Council was 38 minutes late to start the meeting, increasing their average tardiness to 36.5 (37 rounded) minutes. They have been 523 late overall since the new term began Dec. 10, 2025.

As for behavior, the Council did okay compared to the previous meeting. Having a united front on the dais on issues that are affecting our community reflect how united the community is during these difficult times. Since everyone was behaving, they get a star on the good-noodle board.

07/17/2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE// Statement from Co-Founder Daniel Diaz

RE: RE: The Santanero launches GoFundMe in last effort to avoid suspending operations

Support our GoFundMe with our link in bio.