Cultural Event: ~El Grito~

For my cultural event I went to “El Grito” at the SUB North Plaza here at Texas Tech on September 15th. It took place from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.; it’s a celebration of Mexico’s Independence. Most people think that Mexico celebrates its independence on the 16th, but it actually starts on the night of the 15th and it carries on to the morning of the 16th. No one had ever really explained that to me so I learned something new. It was also a celebration of other Latin American countries who celebrate their independence on the 16th of September too, so it was just one big fiesta for everyone. “El Grito de Independencia” actually means “The Cry of Independence” for Mexico. There is a great deal of history behind this big celebration, history that I did not even know before. I am 100% Mexican, both of my parents were born and raised in Mexico, but for some reason before coming to Texas Tech, I had never celebrated Mexico’s Independence (with the exception of one time in Spanish class in high school-- we convinced our Spanish teacher to let us bring tres leches cake to class, it wasn’t really a traditional celebration). I thought that it was pretty weird that I hadn’t ever been a part of such a significant event, but I knew that someday I’d have a chance to celebrate it for real, if not with my family then with my friends. My family doesn’t celebrate it here and I have never gotten the chance to go to Mexico during September, so I felt like I was missing out on something really big and important to my country. Attending this event here helped me understand what it’s like and the importance of this celebration to many people. On the night of September 15th Father Hidalgo rang his church bell and called for everyone to stand up and fight for liberty. “El Grito” is a reenactment of Father Hidalgo’s call to everyone. Everyone shouts “Viva Mexico!!” or “Long Live Mexico!!” It was really fun, not only were there Mexicans there celebrating at the Plaza, but people of all kinds of different races and cultures. There were different kinds of Latinos from different organizations here on campus as well as Caucasians, Asians, and African Americans. Mariachis where playing loud festive music, people where dancing and having a lot of fun. They served “posole”, a traditional Mexican dish which was really good. I hadn’t had posole since I came here so it was nice. There were people taking pictures, waving Mexican flags in the air and hugging each other. It was really great to see everyone so united for this celebration. It felt like I was in Mexico, I felt close to home and a sense of pride for my country. I think that it’s wonderful that Texas Tech celebrates diversity so much; it makes everyone feel connected and helps to forget about differences. It’s pretty awesome how everyone can get together for something so special and join a celebration that is not part of everyone’s culture.