Students participate and help organize the Guelaguetza
annually in Fresno to increase cultural awareness.
Courtesy of Felix Mendoza
Many Fresno State students will try to reconnect to their culture by attending the Guelaguetza this Sunday at Roosevelt High School.
The Guelaguetza means to give, share and receive in the indigenous Mesoamerican Zapotec language and the celebration is a tradition of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Many Fresno State students want to learn and educate people about their culture and not forget their identity while adapting to the American culture.
“The reason I will be attending is because I find it important to attend events like these, because it allows me to keep in touch with my people and embrace our traditions,” Fresno State student and Guelaguetza organizer Yenedith Valencia said.
“If anything, I feel we get too caught up in adapting to the American culture that we begin losing our own,” Valencia said. “Events like these remind us that we must not forget where we came from.”
A study done by the Journal of Family Psychology in 2008 found that first-generation immigrants report less anxiety because they tend to attach more to their ethnic identity when facing perceived discrimination from the host country.
The study also found that rejection of a person’s natal or host culture may lead to depression, anxiety and other issues.
“In contrast, optimal well being seems to come from adopting a bicultural identity wherein both natal and host cultures are represented.”
For Ana Lilia Ruvalcaba, a Fresno State student and organizer of Guelaguetza in Fresno, attending these cultural events remind her of heritage and culture.
“I’m not from Oaxaca, but I get to learn about another Mexican culture that I didn’t know much about,” Ruvalcaba said. “Every state in Mexico has its own traditions and learning about one is really exciting and informing.”
Although there are many students who believe that it is beneficial to maintain their ethnic identity while adapting to the American culture, there are some students who believe it is important to accept the American culture. For Fresno State student Jesse Orozco, accepting the American culture is important, but it is also important to support one’s own.
“It is important to accept the culture, because if you reject it you will struggle,” Orozco said. “I do believe we have to step away from the culture sometimes.”
“It is important to support these events. Last year I attended [the Guelaguetza] and it was good,” Orozco added.
The American culture and Mexican culture are very different, but students here at Fresno State might have a richer cultural atmosphere, according to student Erica Lopez.
“We’re unique because we get the best out of both cultures,“ Lopez said. “It is important to perceive and reinforce our ethnic culture to ourselves and to our children so it won’t be forgotten.”
The Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities, other organizations and the help of some Fresno State students will host the celebration. The event will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Roosevelt High School Auditorium.