In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, a day commemorating the defeat of French forces by Mexico at the Battle of Puebla, members of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF) club put together a lunch with entertainment provided by the Spanish Club.

This spectacle was in the form of a mariachi band called Mariachi Tenochtitlan, which performed traditional Spanish folk songs for students, May 5.

The lunch consisted of homemade enchiladas, chips and a dessert of choice. The event has been orchestrated by CSF adviser Molly Sargent since 1993 as part of the club’s service.

“The reason I chose Cinco de Mayo was because I wanted to have it on a holiday so that there was a reason to have a lunch,” Sargent said. “It was a holiday that we didn’t take a vacation for; we were actually here, so I picked Cinco de Mayo. Another reason I picked it was because I was trying to create a little more cultural awareness.”

First time CSF member Viviana Hinojosa, ’14, appreciated the teamwork involved to ensure that everything ran smoothly.

“I thought it [the lunch] was a lot of fun, yet really tiring because it was really hot out there,” Hinojosa said. “It was a fun experience working the line with all the other CSF people; everyone was so nice and helpful. When I was filling up drinks and people were coming through fast other people came to help me out because they saw that I was struggling with that.”

As the Spanish Club adviser, Beatriz Foth wanted students to have an interactive Cinco de Mayo experience. For this reason, she hired Mariachi Tenochtitlan to help expose FC to Mexican culture.

“I think the students enjoyed it a lot, both high school and elementary,” Foth said. “I think most of the students were involved; they liked the songs and they were actually paying attention to the mariachis. Especially the elementary students.”

In an annual tradition, Danny Ibarra, ’11, presented a song he had prepared with the mariachis. Ibarra continued the tradition he began with his brother Julio, ’10, despite his absence from the campus festivities.

“I sung ‘El Rey’ by Vicente Fern