Anthems, Dancing, and Gritos: Divisions I and II Celebrate Mexican Independence Day

By Division I Media & Journalism reporter Kory

On Thursday, September 15th, Spanish classes from Divisions 1 and 2 were invited to the official Mexican Independence Day Celebration in downtown Boston. The entire ceremony started with a person standing at a podium who thanked all the people who made the celebration possible. After all the names were said, the American National Anthem started to play, and a woman started to sing. Everyone stood up with respect and listened. Only seconds after the National Anthem had stopped, the Mexican National anthem began to play. When the national anthem stopped, a few people stood up and gave short speeches about how it was important to celebrate the Mexican Independence Day. And then came the dancers.

The men were dressed in dark blue pants and jackets. They also wore sombreros, which they used in the dance. As soon as the dance started, mariachi music began to play. The women joined in after a while. They were wearing white dresses with a strand of color across the waist. As the women danced, they moved the bottom of their dresses in a spiral motion, which made them look like ripples in water. A group of people dressed as old men also performed. They were hunched while wearing white masks with colorful shapes and stripes all over them. Their routine was very complicated and when they were finally done, the old men ended up lying on the ground.

During the performances, every once in awhile someone would do a grito. This was something we had learned in Spanish class. It was a sort of special yell that expresses excitement in Mexican culture. Besides the music and dance, there was a coloring competition for all of the students. The goal was to create an image of the represents how you think of Mexico. I partnered up with my classmate Scarlett, and we drew various foods from Mexico with the Mexican flag in the background. At the end I felt very proud of myself and the drawing.

This trip connected to me on a very deep level because my heritage is Mexican. I learned many new things about the culture and I am proud to be a part of it.