Millions of Mexicans celebrated Independence Day from Spain on both sides of the international border, Friday.
The 16th of September marks the declaration of independence in 1810 when Mexico rose up against Spain’s colonial rule.
Along with the celebrations, there are history lessons for the younger generations.
More than 70% of students in the Sweetwater Union High School District are Latino. Some of them were born in Mexico and most of them have extended families there.
Brandon Delgado, 17, is a senior at the district’s Chula Vista High School. He is also a student in the advanced Mexican folk dance program.
“Mexicans have been through a lot and that’s why I’m proud to be Mexican,” he said. Delgado is in his third year of dancing and said he hopes to continue wherever he attends college after graduation.
Magdalena Castro is the teacher who leads Mexican folk dance at Chula Vista High, a school for performing and creative arts. With six classes a week in polka, Folklorico, and other traditional dances, it is the largest program of its kind in San Diego County.
“Being Mexican and American is such a beautiful thing,” Castro told KPBS News while preparing for Friday’s celebration. “My students can celebrate here as an American and they can celebrate their Mexican roots where they came from, too,” she said.
There is more than just artistic expression happening on stage and in the classroom. Roxanna Espinoza, 16, is a senior who has big plans for her future. They include more dancing and a career in law to stomp out the injustice so many people of color continue to experience in the U.S.
She said, “People think of them as dangerous and like people who are very reckless. But when you get down to it, we are all human.”
This is the first 16th of September Mexican Independence Day celebration back on campus and in person following the COVID crisis and a pandemic of social injustice.
Moises Aguirre, the Sweetwater Union High School District Superintendent, attended Friday’s folk dance performance. He said he was excited to see the campus full of students interacting with each other.
“We know in education that is what helps our students, it is relationships. That sense of belonging. We feel experiences like today help bring it to life,” Aguirre said.
