Music and dancing will fill History Park San Jose this Saturday, with artists playing tributes to War, Journey, Santana, Teena Marie and more. Headlining the event is none other than Paul Benavidez, lead singer of Malo and the voice behind “Suavecito,” the “Chicano national anthem,” who blesses the stage with a performance in the band Tortilla Soup. There will be food, beer, wine and enough music to keep the dancing going well into the evening. Maxx Cabello, another featured artist, brings soulful blues music for good times. Tickets are flying fast: the only ones left must be purchased at the door.

Party in the Park
Sat, 11am, $40
History Park, San Jose

Not that anyone needs an excuse to visit the delightfully retro environs of History Park in San Jose. But opening this month is a promising program for anyone interested in California history. As its title implies, Her Side of the Story: Tales of California Pioneer Women features 30 first-person accounts of women who arrived in California in the first years of statehood. The exhibit is based on a ledger that documented women’s stories in California before 1854. It also includes 40 portraits of unidentified pioneer women to create a fuller picture of women’s lives during the Gold Rush.Her Side of the Story
Thu, 12pm, Free
The Arbuckle Gallery, San Jose

Bellissimo! Rolling into its 39th year, the Festa celebrates Italian culture with a weekend full of everything Italians do best—including food, wine and art. Watch marionettes swivel on stage, and stomp on some grapes as local artists show their creations at La Galleria Caprese and Mike Zampencini walks the grounds with his accordian. There will also be medieval sword fights and an archival exploration of the Valley of Heart’s Delight market, plus local author Caroline Cocciardi talks about her book on DaVinci, Leonardo’s Knots. Opera, blues, dance, classic Italian and a Frank Sinatra tribute are all lined up to set the musical mood.

Italian Family Festa
Sat, 11am, Free
History Park, San Jose

It’s been 75 years since Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in June of 1944. A year later, in August 1945, Japan declared its intent to surrender. History Park commemorates the end of World War II this weekend with two days of 1940s-themed fanfare. Friday is swing night, featuring the brassy reverie and splashing percussion of San Jose big band The Swing Solution. The old-timey tunes return on Saturday, along with plenty of old-fashioned fun including a period-appropriate fashion show, car show and recreation of a WWII homecoming parade. Make sure to say hello to the members of the Greatest Generation who are in attendance.

Spirit of ’45
Fri-Sat, 12pm, $5+
History Park, San Jose

This summer, Flicks & Grooves at History Park invites San Jose to get its final-Friday fill of music. For the last four years, San Jose native Kiva Uhuru, has juggled studies in electrical engineering and computer science at Berkeley while continuing to deepen and share her musical craft. One minute her voice recalls a sweet wind murmuring through long grass, the next moment she channels the power of thunder, rolling over earthen red hills. For now, she has no recordings, so the only place to hear her music is live and in person.

Kiva Uhuru + Noop & Neens
Fri, 7:30pm, $5+
History Park, San Jose.

This summer, History San Jose has a lineup of outdoor nighttime movies aimed directly at the bleeding millennial heart. Starting in May—with one film a month through October—Flicks and Grooves presents a series of Wes Anderson films. This celebration of the sad, sentimental, sardonic and symmetrical kicks off with Moonrise Kingdom this Friday. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is Jun. 14; followed by Rushmore on Jul. 12; then comes The Grand Budapest Hotel on Aug. 9; The Royal Tenenbaums on Sep. 13 and Fantastic Mr. Fox on Oct. 11. There will also be a live concert each month. Kids under 12 are free.

Wes Anderson Festival
History Park, San Jose
Fri, 7pm, $5

The Poetry Center San Jose is taking the weekend to celebrate the city’s diverse ethnic and cultural heritage with their fourth annual San Jose Poetry Festival. The two-day event will be split into a day of performances and a day of workshops. Saturday will consist of readings and performances by local talent all day, along with a shorter press event until 5. Sunday will feature a slew of writing workshops organized around different themes. Day one visitors will also get the chance to try out some East African-inspired Somali entrees served by Safari Kitchen.

San Jose Poetry Festival
Sat-Sun, 9am, $5+
History Park, San Jose

Robots, rockets and swarms of kids abound in one of the most innovative regions in the world. History San Jose presents its third annual “mini” version of MAKE Magazine’s flagship Maker Faire, which takes STEM and crafts outside of the classroom to a county fair setting full of family friendly exhibits and DIY booths. The one-day event is a celebration of the maker in everyone—encouraging young techies, crafters, scientists, tinkerers and artists to home in on their curiosity and become creators in their community.

Mini Maker Faire
Sun, 11am, $3+
History San Jose, San Jose

San Jose Taco Festival returned to History Park for its second year with interesting taco recipes from more than 35 food trucks, live entertainment, clothing and jewelery vendors and lucha libre wrestling.

Metro photographer Alex Stover was there to get in on the tasty action.

For 34 years, the Puerto Rican festival, El Dia De San Juan, has brought traditional Puerto Rican foods, dance and music to San Jose. For music, that of course means salsa and meringue, but the folks behind the event didn’t want the festival to only feature traditional Puerto Rican music.

That’s why they’ve included a second stage, dubbed the “Youth Stage,” which has been in the festival the past four years.

“We wanted to touch base with the younger crowd. The main stage is the salsa stage. That’s for the older folks. On the youth stage, we have a lot of the younger performers, kids from the community,” says Rene Baez, the booker for the youth stage.

Most of the performers they’ve booked on the youth stage this year are hip-hop, and quite a few of them live here in San Jose. The headliners are an East Bay group called Los Rakas. Originally from Panama, the duo moved to Oakland when they were in high school, so they have musical influences from both countries. They rap primarily in Spanish over traditional hip-hop club beats, but mix in loops and samples from Latin music.

Baez hopes to continue to expand the music genres and cultural diversity represented on the youth stage. Already this year, he’s booked Mexican American musicians and African American musicians.

“It’s not just a Puerto Rican Festival. We reached out to a lot of people. A lot of folks didn’t want to get involved because they kind of saw it as a Latino kind of festival, which isn’t true. We are looking to reach out to everybody. This is an event that people in the bay area and San Jose really look forward to every year, just the same as the jazz festival,” Baez says.

The Western Region Puerto Rican Council (WRPRC) is the organization behind El Dia De San Juan. Baez is also hosting an after party at the Agenda Lounge with KMEL’s Rick Lee that will feature Mayhem the Don.

El Dia De San Juan will be held in San Jose’s History Park on Saturday, June 23, 11am; $20 adv/$30 door.