The Celebration of the Four Yearly Cultural Events
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Día de la Raza, October 12 (or the nearest Monday to it) is traditionally celebrated throughout the Americas as the day Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.In English speaking countries, the day is celebrated as Columbus Day or Native American Day. In Spanish speaking countries and communities, it is known as Día de la Raza, the Day of the Race. Día de la Raza is the celebration of the Hispanic heritage of Latin America and brings into it all the ethnic and cultural influences making it distinctive.
The celebration is a major event with expected attendance of over 1,000. This Día de la Raza celebration held at Teyecha Park in Downtown Nogales, is a day full of entertainment, and culture. Live music by local bands, norteño music, mariachi, folkloric dancers, food booths, games and much more makes this day memorable to the Latin community.
Each year Mexicayotl continues to advance in its mission of expressing new cultural ideas. Through our Día de la Raza event we have not only seen increased community participation, but it has continued to enrich the cultural education of our students.
In particular Día de la Raza has helped us raise money for student explorations thus helping us achieve our academic goals.
The purpose of Día de la Raza is to continue to make a difference in the education of our students along with increasing community participation.
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Día de los Muertos or Day of theDead, is perhaps the most important holiday in Mexico. A time to remember dead family members usually begins with a candlelight procession to the cemetery, a picnic on the grave, and the decoration of an altar to the departed. Gifts of food and flowers are left on the grave.
Mexicayotl celebrates with building an altar, dedicating them to the dead. Students surround these altars with flowers, food and pictures of the deceased. They light candles and place them next to the altar. Day of the Dead represents a mixture of Pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs. As a result of this mixture, the celebration comes to life as an unique Mexican tradition including an altar and offerings dedicated to the deceased.
The altar includes four main elements of nature — earth, wind, water, and fire. Earth is represented by crop: The Mexicans believe the souls are fed by the aroma of food.Wind is represented by a moving object: Tissue paper is commonly used to represent wind. Water is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar.
0Fire is represented by a wax candle: Each lit candle represents a soul, and an extra one is placed for the forgotten soul.
A procession of about 1 mile is also held by the staff, students and family members accompanied by Mexicayotl's Danza. Pan de muerto and champurro is offered after the ceremony.
Students make masks for the celebration of Dia de los Muertos Masks are used to scare away death at the end of the festivities.
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All the primitive cultures celebrate the period of transition from winter to spring with some festivals where they tried to imitate the effect that this transition produced. These festivals of spring became the carnivals that we know today. The carnivals are an opportunity to make fun of all those things that produce misfortune and/or unhappiness in the life. The Ugly king should represent the opposite of a divine king.The king chooses his queen after presentations from each of the candidates. These presentations should gain the laughter or grace of the king. The queen represents the criticism of: (1). The hierarchy, (2). That the woman is seen less than a man, (3). The fashion
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Emiliano Zapata was a rebel leader who said "It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." A former sharecropper, he organized and led peasants during the battles of the Mexican Revolution, joining forces with Pancho Villa and others to fight the government of Porfirio Diaz. Zapata supported agrarian reform and land redistribution; his rallying cry was "Land and freedom!" Though Diaz was defeated, Zapata continued to resist subsequent government leaders; he was ambushed and shot by Mexican troops in 1919. Zapata remains a folk hero in Mexico, where his name has often been invoked by rebels lie Subcommander Marcos.
Mexicayotl celebrates Noche Zapatista in honor of a great leader of the Mexican Revolution that defended the rights of the agricultural proletarians (farm workers) and everything that stands for PEACE, JUSTICE, FREEDOM, and DEMOCRACY by having foods that originate from Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz. Mexicayotl's Danza has a special ceremony that they perform.
