This week, Hunter students ate, cheered and most importantly, partied for Cinco De Mayo.
In a collaborative effort from the Mexican, Latinx and Undergraduate Student Unions, this year’s Cinco De Mayo party included tacos, quesadillas, and partygoers from all different backgrounds. From freshmen to seniors, everyone had a chance to celebrate with traditional foods and music.
The executive board of Hunter’s Mexican Student Union or MEXSU, made sure they worked hard to host events and bring awareness to Mexican culture. This holiday in particular is extremely important to Mexican people, and they wanted to make sure everyone could party together before the end of the spring semester.
“Anything we feel like is familiar to our culture, we have it as an event,” said MEXSU’s Co-President Alexander Colotl. The unions worked together to cater food, create a music playlist, blow up balloons, and bring the entire party together.
At 5:30 p.m., students filed into Thomas Hunter 205 to get away from the gloomy weather and enjoy the company of one another. Students could RSVP in advance, but even those who didn’t were welcome to food and drinks. The middle of the room was sparked with conversation and most notably—dancing.
Senior Jeremy Corona is not an official member of the Mexican Student Union, but often finds himself at their events, or simply hanging out with the members. He loves the community and the sense of belonging he feels when he participates in the club’s events.
“Events like this for any type of community are important because it helps bring everyone together,” Corona said. “It could help build up someone who might be feeling alone and they just want to find other people like them.”
Not only was it a party, but the MEXSU and Latin Club used the event as a learning opportunity for those who might not know the history of Cinco De Mayo. With a colorful slideshow, they explained the backstory, and the war Mexican soldiers fought against the French on May 5th, 1862. Their triumph at the “Battle of Puebla” showed Mexican resilience and was marked as a patriotic event.
Most students found the event through the MEXSU’s instagram page, where they posted an array of photos and videos to get students excited about the celebration. One of the most liked posts being an encouragement to use the party as a way to take some of the stress from finals week.
The team’s social media manager, Keily Luna, was keen on making the posts reach wider audiences than Mexican-identifying students. Everyone was welcome to share the Cinco De Mayo spirit.
“We have a big Mexican community here, especially in New York. It’s known as Puebla York,” she said. “We really like to introduce Mexican culture to other Mexicans and people who aren’t Mexican at all. So all of our events are open to everyone. We really encourage other people.”
And the party did take away stress. While students partied, their worries about finals melted away like cheese on quesadillas.
