UNM will celebrate Cinco de Mayo today with a two-fold purpose - to educate the campus about the Mexican holiday's history and to raise funds for Latino student groups.
David Padilla, a member of M.E.Ch.A. - a national Chicano student organization - and El Centro de la Raza's Innovative and Culture Programs, said the event is being held today instead of Sunday because the groups wanted to share the historical and cultural importance of the holiday with students while they are still on campus.
Cinco de Mayo marks the Mexican Army's victory against the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is not the official Mexican Independence Day, but was adopted as a holiday in the Southwest during the Chicano movement as a chance to celebrate in the spirit of Mexican patriotism.
The event, which will be south of Zimmerman Library in Smith Plaza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will feature guest speakers Moises Venegas, director of Albuquerque Partnership, and UNM Latin American literature professor Patricia Rosas Lopategui. They will discuss the holiday's traditional and present implications.
Padilla said the event will emphasize education and aims to deter a large part of the community from treating the event as merely a party. The group has created and will display an educational wall featuring Cinco de Mayo images and information about the holiday.
The event's entertainment will consist of Ballet Folklorico, Aztec Dance, Mariachi Lobo and UNM flamenco dances from noon to 1 p.m. Latino student groups that helped organize the event will set up a variety of booths, featuring numerous activities such as balloon tosses and cake walks.
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Carne adovada and rice and beans will be served at noon.
"It gives the opportunity for the organizations to fund-raise for themselves with the carnival and also works as a stress reliever for everyone stressing about finals," Padilla said. "They can go out and have some good food, listen to some good music and just relax for a few minutes."
Groups involved with the event include Amistades; Chicano/as for Chiapas; the Hispanic Engineering Student Organization; El Centro de la Raza's Innovative and Cultural Programs; Enlace; Kappa Delta Chi Interest Group; Lamda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc.; and the Associated Students of UNM Student Special Events.
For more information, contact El Centro de la Raza at 277-5020.
