Cerritos College students wore sombreros to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, in the Falcon Square Amphitheater, May 5.

With the collaboration of the History Department and the Sociedad de Profesores Hispanos the event was put together, aiming to educate and preserve the Chicano/Hispanic culture.

The Battle of Puebla fiesta included, a crash course history lesson given by professor Walter Fernandez, of the History Department summarizing the historic battle and the reason why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated.

Fernandez said, “Cinco de Mayo also known as The Battle of Puebla, commemorates the battle fought in the city of Puebla one of Mexico’s largest cities.”

“The battle was fought in 1862, by the invading French army whose excuse was coming to collect the debt, that the Mexican government owed to different European investors and banks at the time.

“The Mexican army came out victorious in the battle against the French, for this we celebrate Cinco de Mayo,” Fernandez added.

Valerie Gomez, President of the Speech and Debate team, said, “I think that it is very important that we know what Cinco de Mayo actually means, its not just about taking tequila shots, we should learn about its actual meaning.”

Those who attended the event were seen enjoying the festivity, with music, poetry readings and food.

A poetry session kicked off the fiesta, students took the stage and read their poems written both in Spanish and in English to the crowd.

Oscar Franco, ASCC President was one of the students who read a poem to the crowd.

“I wasn’t prepared to read the poem, but I’m glad that I did, words are powerful.”

“Reading the poem and its significance, motivated me and inspired me to keep going as an immigrant,” Franco said.

Throughout the event the band Grupo Sabor, made the crowd dance with their Latin flavor music, songs like La Bamba, kept the students on their feet.

Linda Guandique, of the Teacher TRAC student program, said, “I think that the event is a great way of showing us other culture’s customs, and will allow us to preserve Hispanic traditions.”

Carne asada burritos, chips, churros, and a traditional Mexican horchata drink, were some of the items on the menu that were sold, by the members of the Puente Club .

Natasha Majano, Co-President of the Puente Club, said, “We are selling burritos and horchata as a form of fundraiser for our members.

“The Puente Club is dedicated to help minority groups transferring to the UCs and CSUs of their choice, we had the support of professor Fernandez, to be part of this event,” Majano said.

A guest speaker of Chicano rights was invited to the event, with his guitar in hand was able to deliver his message and made the crowd laugh with his entertaining remarks.

Roberto Tijerina Cantú, Author, Musician and Poet, said, “In my performance I talked about the Maya, Inca, and Aztecs, and all of the historical contributions these ancient, beautiful people were apart of.

“The idea of coming out is to embrace being part of the Hispanic culture and educate those who are not familiar with our traditions.

“Cinco de Mayo celebration is about the struggle of our people. How we were able to over come great odds, like Cesar Chavez overcame great odds, that is what it really is about.

“We look a the history the people from Puebla fighting against the massive French army and even with a small force they were able to defeat them,” Tijerina added.

Tijerina, ended his performance with a loud, “Que Viva Mexico, Raza!”