Granite Hills High School and the MEChA Club is hosting the annual Cinco de Mayo Food Event on Friday, May 1.
The event will run from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Granite Hills Amphitheater.
The purpose of the festival is to celebrate Mexican culture, allowing students to attend with their family or friends. School clubs and athletic programs will sell a variety of food and drinks.
This year, Granite Hills is also providing the opportunity for our incoming freshmen and their parents to participate via the Passport to Success event.
MEChA President Jennifer Munoz said the goal was to create a space where students could celebrate and learn more about Mexican culture.
“What inspired MEChA to organize the Cinco de Mayo Food Fair was being able to provide students an opportunity to celebrate and learn more about Mexican culture,” Munoz said. “We wanted to bring together our community through food and music. Cinco de Mayo means pride and culture. This day gives us a way to honor our roots and share with others what it means to us.”
Munoz has been in MEChA for four years and has helped put the event on in previous years, also sharing what guests can expect.
“A few foods and activities that will be at the event will be agua frescas, tacos, music playing throughout the event, a passport to success for freshmen, along with many other cultural foods and activities,” she said.
This is the fifth year the event has taken place.
“I hope students learn to have a better understanding of Mexican culture and appreciate the beauty of our local community,” Munoz said. “I also want them to have fun and enjoy the event. It is important to celebrate culture on campus because it really helps students feel seen and proud of who they are. It’s also helpful with teaching others about different backgrounds.”
Mr. Marquez has been the MEChA adviser since 2021, when the club was re-launched by Kimberly Ramirez and Victoria Ibarra Ramos as part of an ACE Pathway civic engagement project.
“This event supports students and school culture because it allows all clubs and sports to raise money for their students,” Marquez said. “It is also a chance for everyone to get together and celebrate Mexican culture. This event is really a team effort; ASB, maintenance, all the individual club advisors, students, and their parents help put this thing together.”
He further explained how the event benefits MEChA directly.
“It is a school-wide effort. MEChA benefits students involved in the club by making it a tradition to sell agua frescas every year,” he said. “The agua frescas are donated by parents, so all the money we make from the sales goes directly to the club. This is really important because the majority of our school population is made up of students with a Mexican background. Even though Cinco de Mayo isn’t a major holiday in Mexico, it gives our students here an opportunity to show pride in their roots.”
In addition to celebrating culture, the event also serves another purpose on campus. School administrator Mrs. Zarco explained how freshman night is being included.
“We combined freshman night with this event so that the incoming freshmen can see firsthand one of our school events, and so they can learn more about the clubs that are going to be out there,” Zarco said. “They can meet students who are part of the clubs, and get a sense for our campus culture. This event helps incoming freshmen feel welcome by being able to learn more about the opportunities that are available to them, so they can be more excited about coming to Granite – familiarize themselves with the adults and students that they will get to meet at this event. We want our incoming grizzlies to see our seniors that are leaving for college, so that they too can get inspired to do the same thing.”
Guests can expect to see colorful decorations, school-run food booths, and lots of school and cultural spirit at the event. Students and families will hear cultural music all throughout the time they’ll be there, and stories of culture and traditions. They will experience a strong sense of community, culture, and celebration. It’s a place to learn new things and enjoy great food. The event is open to the entire community of Porterville.
