Each year, multiple clubs come together to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a special lunch and entertainment. The California Scholastic Federation (CSF) provides the enchilada lunch and Spanish Club brings in a Mariachi Band and decorates the lunch area. On account of the actual Cinco de Mayo falling on a Sunday, the event was held on the next day during lunch, May 6.
CSF adviser Molly Sargent originally started the fundraiser as a way to obtain money to purchase graduation supplies.
“At first, this was CSF’s only fundraiser,” Sargent said. “Since Cinco de Mayo is a holiday towards the end of the year, and it usually isn’t a day off, it seemed like a logical time to hold the event. We use the funds to buy the paraphernalia for graduation such as the cords and the stoles. My hope is that eventually we can make the Senior Banquet free to those who attend.”
Although Sargent finds the event to be difficult sometimes, she enjoys working with the students to help make it a success.
“This project is a lot of hard work,” Sargent said. “The lunch itself is not altogether that enjoyable, but I like working with the kids, and that makes it fun.”
After helping host the annual event for the past five years, spanish teacher Beatriz Foth finds enjoyment in listening to the mariachi band that comes to perform and seeing the students participate.
“My favorite part about the Cinco de Mayo lunch is listening to the mariachi band and seeing the student involvement,” Foth said. “People don’t get to hear a mariachi band that often, so it’s a special event.”
According to Foth, Cinco de Mayo a special event that should be celebrated by all. Because of the history of the Spanish and French war, Foth describes why Americans should be thankful for this unique occasion.
“Cinco de Mayo is more than just a Mexican celebration,” Foth said. “The United States should actually be thankful that the Mexican were able to defeat the French because their original plan was to conquer the land north of Mexico and maybe we would have ended up speaking Fresno right now instead of English.”
Due to her house being located so close to school, senior Jessica Healy volunteered to host the group of people making the enchiladas the day before. Though not many students showed up to help, they were able to complete the task in a timely fashion.
“It was my idea to host making the enchiladas at my house because I live close to the school, so it was convenient and easy for people to find,” Healy said. “I think it went really well; we started out with not that many volunteers, but people started showing up and we had a lot of fun, considering how fast we finished. I hope the lunch had a good turn out today because the enchiladas are really good. We usually sell all of them, so I hope we do the same this year.”
For freshman Courtney Messer, the special event provided an opportunity for the high school community to gather and enjoy a time of fellowship during the school day.
“I liked the way the tables were set up in the middle of the quad,” Messer said. “It felt like everyone came together, and I also liked how some students got involved with the music.”
Kevin Thao, ’13, appreciates the event that the clubs put on every year because he enjoys the lunch and entertainment provided. He also likes knowing that he is able to be a part of this special occasion through Spanish Club.
“It’s a unique way to experience Cinco De Mayo,” Thao said. “Having a mariachi band every year has been great. It’s always fun to see who participates by going up and dancing. The lunch put on by CSF is always really good too. The whole event is just really fun and different.”
This writer can be reached via Twitter: @tylerwl.
For more features, read the May 2 article, Year-end convocation unifies school, instills memories (VIDEO).
