In a celebration featuring Mexican food and a live mariachi band, residents, students, faculty, staff and small children tooting horns in the colors of the Mexican flag gathered together last Saturday night to observe the independence of Mexico and other Latin American countries. The Independence Day festivities, organized by the Hispanic studies department, the department of ethnomusicology and Programa de Estudios Hispánicos en Cordóba, filled Peters Hall to capacity Saturday night.

“El Día de Independencia, with the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe in December, are the two biggest celebrations for Mexicans,” said Esmeralda Martinez-Tapia, faculty in residence of Harvey Spanish House.

“We wanted a real celebration of all Latin American countries,” said Blanche Villar, administrative assistant for Hispanic studies department. “We probably focused more on Mexico because we have more resources for that, but we did ask everyone to bring flags from their own countries.”

David Arredondo, director of international student services at Lorain County Community College, keynoted the event. Arredondo explained and recited El Grito, the “Cry of Independence,” which initiated Mexico’s 1810 rebellion against Spain.

Martinez-Tapia recounted the genesis of the revolution: “The [independence] conspiracy was discovered, but the movement was not supposed to begin until December, so they had to act right away, so at 11 [p.m.] on the 15th of September, Fr. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the bell in the pueblo Dolores and gathered the inhabitants. By midnight they were all excited and that’s why the 15th and 16th [of September] are connected.”

“This is the first time we ever went ahead and decided to bring in a mariachi,” said Villar. The Cleveland-based Mexican mariachi band Joya de México dominated the evening, a highlight being a spirited rendition of the Mexican National anthem, accompanied by Villar’s mother’s vocals.

In addition to overtly patriotic standards, Joya de México’s set included traditional favorites such as “El Rey,” “Guadalajara” and “La Negra” that are part of Mexican culture. Martinez-Tapia described “La Negra” as “a very Mexican song, symbolic of the country.”

The night’s festivities drew in people from the College and community, also attracting guests from Cleveland and even visitors from Detroit. “My husband is Mexican so we always like to go to this kind of thing,” said Jane Soto, an Oberlin resident. “I came for all the good food,” said her husband, Alex C. Soto. “This is the first time there’s been something this big. With the Mexican restaurant [Casa Fiesta] downtown, there’s a lot of Mexicans moving in.”

Student participation was another key part of the evening. Students not only attended the celebration, they played an active role, with residents of La Casa Hispánica and other students briefly explaining the independence struggles of Latin American countries.

“As a Peruvian, I felt proud we were celebrating Latin America, not just Mexico,” said College first-year Karla Loro. “I was also moved by the pride and patriotism that was shown during the Mexican National Anthem. I chose to participate because even though we were celebrating Mexico’s independence day, I felt like the person who organized this event really wanted to honor other countries as well. Also, most of our nations were set free around the same time, so it didn’t matter that we did it on the 15th. We celebrated them all.”