The sweet smell of tortillas,
and the traditional melodies of the
mariachi band carried
across the free speech
area as Fresno City
College celebrated
the anniversary of
the Mexican Independence.
FCC’s
annual Mexican Independence
Day celebration
was held last
Wednesday at the free
speech area. Several
campus organizations
sold Mexican food
and displayed Chicano
artifacts to hundreds
of students who
gathered to take part
in the event.
T h i s e v e n t
kicked off the Latino
Heritage month celebrations
that started
on Sept. 16 and will
go on to mid October.
“I think it’s important to
celebrate this day, because other
people get to realize that the Mexican
culture is here and alive,” said
Arturo Amaro, Chicano Studies
instructor at FCC.
T h i s e v e n t
started off with a lecture
on the history
of Mexican Independence
Day and later
a club rush followed
by the Mariachi, a
traditional Mexican
style of band that has
become very commonplace
in the Central
Valley. The band
made its way from the
fountain area to the
free speech area
Lino Galindo,
historian of the Diversity
Club, said,
“Mexican Independence
was freedom to
Mexicans; to us this is
important because we
are a club that supports
being differentand being free to be your own person. This day promotes exactly what our club does, so we are very happy to support this day.”
. The mariachi gave students an opportunity to show their talent and sing some Mexican songs. Students danced, sang and interacted with one another in the sweltering heat of the middle of the day. To finish this event, FCC’s “Grupo Folklorico” performed a dance to the cheer of the crowd. Diverse groups participated in this event; it brought together not only students of Mexican descent but other students around campus.
“This day would be like an Asian festival to me. It is cool to celebrate this culture as it is to celebrate any other culture,” said Senior Fong Yang. The PUENTE club, a Latin based group, organized the grito contest which allowed students to take their best shot at delivering the “grito”, the famous yell heard in many forms of music. The mariachi was followed by more music and food.
“Celebrating the different cultures at FCC is a long standing tradition. This is something we just do every year,” said Shawn Henderson, director of college activities. This Celebration also gave the different clubs around campus an opportunity to raise money by selling Mexican based foods and snacks.
“This is a chance for all our student organizations to be out on a cultural celebration and support the day, the culture. Even non-Latin based club are out there supporting and being a part of this celebration,” said Henderson.
The college activities office will be planning many other events throughout the month. This is also one of many other celebrations that will be taking place throughout the year, including the Asian-American month and African-American month, Henderson said. “One of the coolest things about Fresno City College is the way we celebrate the diversity of the people.”