The Glendale Community College Cultural Diversity Division hosted the Latinx Heritage Fair in the Vaquero Plaza early October to celebrate all Latinx culture.
With tents and stands set up in the plaza, students and faculty alike huddled together in celebration of Latinx culture across Central and South America.
From left to right were presentations of the highlighted Latin countries and tables filled with different dishes from said countries. “They get to enjoy some delicious food that is Latin American based. We have Yucca Frita, we have empanadas, sopas, flautas, and some delicious dessert churros that our students can enjoy today,” Carla Ruiz, the Cultural Diversity Coordinator, said.
But the fair was not just a free-for-all. Students and participants had to do a little leg-work. “We’re having our students visit three of those countries, fill out a little passport and a little characteristic they learned from each country,” Ruiz said.
The fair played host to a live Latin band that filled the plaza with Spanish songs of classic and original origin in the attempt to liven the atmosphere of diversity, learning, and fun in a celebration of a people.
“The idea is for us to come together as a community in recognition (of) this month which we call Latinx Heritage Month,” Ruiz said. “So the idea of our Latinx Multicultural Fair today is to celebrate different aspects of Latinx culture.”
Despite this being the first specific Latinx heritage celebration, GCC being such a diverse school has made sure to put different cultures in the spotlight.
“We’ve done different variety of fairs…For the last 4 years, every May we do a…nightmarket where we invite different Asian market vendors and food vendors…We have different cultural dances and musicians that come out to play,” Ruiz said.
These cultural celebrations are intended to educate students that everyone is playing on the same field, just in different ways sometimes.
“I think it’s really important for students to experience other cultures, know that our differences are sometimes really similar, “ Ruiz said. “We have such great overlap in ways that we experience our food, experience our culture, experience our language so it’s always nice to be able to share in that.”
Students seem to feel the love the school is trying to emulate through these celebrations. “Seeing that they expand the cultures (celebrated)…is cool to see that they actually care about everyone,” Lionel Aisuan, a freshman football player, said. “The community around the school and the environment is a lovely environment…It brings people wanting to come back every day…I look forward to coming (to GCC).”
“I think having a Hispanic presence on campus is super important,” Isabella Verdia, Vice President of Activities in ASGCC, said. “But I think being in student government (it) is important to show up to cultural events because we have such a diverse student population, and it’s important for that to be reflected in what we show up to.”
At the end of the day, GCC is a school inhabited by a multitude of cultures and celebrations such as the Latinx Multicultural Fair helps give students a better insight on their fellow peers.
“There’s no difference. Maybe just the color of our skin or the way we talk or how we present ourselves,” Ruiz said. “But I think there are similarities that we can find and bridges that we can build together.”