Gibson Ranch became a sprawling Hmong village this weekend.

About 8,000 Southeast Asians packed the park for traditional love songs, dances, foods, textiles, volleyball and nonstop soccer.

Hmong and Iu Mien refugees from Laos didn't play soccer in their rugged mountain villages, but they've embraced the world's game here in the United States.

Hmong teams from Fresno, Chico and Sacramento dominated the 6th Annual Southeast Asian Games.

The 27 teams included Vietnamese, Chinese and Laotian squads, said organizer Arron Vang. And a South Korean team showed up for the volleyball tournament.

The event was like the huge Hmong New Year's celebrations held at Gibson Ranch every November, only far more relaxed. Women didn't have to show up in their traditional hot and heavy Hmong finery – shorts and flip-flops were the costume of choice.

The two-day event showcased athletes, recording artists and the next generation of Hmong leaders. The so-called King of the Hmong, Gen. Vang Pao, died of pneumonia with heart complications on Jan. 6 at Clovis Community Medical Center.

For 60 years Vang Pao – recruited by the CIA to lead a guerrilla army against the communists during the Vietnam War – set the course for his people. One of his sons, Wang Chong Vang of Fresno, gave the keynote speech Saturday.

"He said even if Gen. V.P. isn't here, we have to have unity," said Arron Vang, whose father and uncle fought alongside Vang Pao.

"We're slowly trying to carry on the general's vision," said Sacramento radio personality Rose Xiong.

With the general's passing, the next generation of Hmong leaders can set its own course, said UC Berkeley junior Chue Xiong of Marysville.

"There's a lot of separation in the Hmong community, but there are a lot of great leaders out there and the Hmong are now moving in a different direction," said Xiong, 21. "We're becoming a more aligned community."

Tradition, culture and family responsibilities are still paramount. Xiong, sporting a Cal cap, was helping his girlfriend Ploua Thao's family run one of the many Hmong food booths serving green papaya salad, Hmong sausage, purple sticky rice, barbecued fish and chicken, and mango and tapioca deserts.

"This event's trying to bridge the gap between various cultures and increase awareness of our culture," said Xiong, a political economy major, who was born three months after his parents arrived in the United States.

Most turned out for soccer, lining the fields with a sea of colorful umbrellas shielding them from the midday sun.

"You get to know people," said Choua Lor, a 20-year-old goalie from Oroville who plays on the United women's team. "This is more laid back than Hmong New Year's, and I like the beat of Hmong music and dancing."

Hmong entertainers and CD stands cranked out non-stop music. At one booth, the love songs of Laotian Hmong sensation I Nis Yang, 19, filled the air. Her signature Hmong song – and the title of her album – is "Because You Are Too Late," said producer Kachel Thao of Rancho Cordova. "She's saying, 'You're too late, I'm already married.' "

There was plenty of good soccer. Oroville's North Star beat Fresno powerhouse Tornado in a 4-3 penalty kick shootout.

Tony Lee of Sacramento's United Iu Mien Community plays forward for the Sacramento Invaders, who took on another Hmong squad, the Black Tigers, on Sunday.

"The Mien and Hmong, regardless of where we're from, we're really close, culturally and linguistically," said Lee, 37. "We lived together in the mountains of Laos, served under Vang Pao together, and we have lots of intermarriage."

Lee started playing soccer when he was a 17-year-old college freshman. Vong Lee, the 34-year-old captain of North Sacramento's King United, was 25 when he learned how to play.

"In the jungles we didn't have any place to go play soccer," said Vong Lee, who plays sweeper. "Here we studied the game, watched professionals and learned from them."

Some Hmong and Mien learned how to kick a bamboo ball in their mountain villages in a game called kato. On Sunday, 10 teams were playing the game, a volleyball variation that forbids the use of hands, and plenty of bicycle kicks come into play.

Sunday's pleasantly warm weather attracted hundreds of families, including many up-and-coming soccer players. "This is good for the kids and all generations," said Vong Lee. "We have something to do instead of staying at home."

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