Fresno City College students, staff and the community celebrated Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 16 in the free speech area from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 The event featured many different types of foods, including typical Mexican foods like tacos, tostadas, burritos, quesadillas, fruit cups and much more that many enjoyed while walking to their next class or sitting during a class break.

Mexico’s Independence Day in its country and in many parts of the United States is celebrated with parades, festivals, feasts and parties. In Mexico, the entire county has its flag up. This date is important to Mexico because they became independent from Spain in 1810.

The event had a good number of people attending. Victoria Harding, an FCC student, was not born in Mexico but this means a lot for her because it represents her heritage.

“ I enjoy attending these events because it is part of my culture and it represents me and my family,” said Harding.

The event was organized by Student Activities and college assistant Maile Martin.

“Student Activities coordinated most of the event. I  booked the mariachi, flamenco dance and the performance of Victor Torres, FCC dance instructor,” said Martin.

The mariachi group began performing at the main fountain and then walked its way to the free speech area where it performed for an hour.

 Shawn Williams, an FCC student, was attracted to the event by the smell of the food.

“I like how everything looks, how it’s set up,” said Williams. “I had some of the wings and they were pretty good,” he added. Williams likes Mexican food and he was glad they had it on campus for this date.

Like many other events that are coordinated on campus throughout the year, this event had its own goals and purposes.

“This is a time to bring the community together from different cultural diversity to be together,” said Martin.