The MECHA Club is an opportunity for Hispanic students to recognize and have pride in their culture. Not only does this help them have pride in their culture, but it also allows them to celebrate it and share it with the rest of the school community, and have people recognize and learn about Hispanic culture.
Mr. Navarro said, “The Chicano Movement of the late 1960s helped spark cultural and historical pride in our people.” Taking inspiration from this helped encourage them to start the club to share the history of the Latino community and promote higher education and Latin culture. “We believe that political involvement and education are avenues for change in our society.” Mr.Navarro said. The club views this as an opportunity to help guide the younger generation toward greater achievements, changing people’s views to inspire them to believe in something bigger.
“Brown pride began to express itself through poetry, literature, art, and theater. By doing this, it helped foster a culture of understanding between different cultures. Not only does it help communities understand each other more, but it also helps strengthen the community from within, creating a more powerful community than it already is, showing how proud and brave the community has become at this point in life. Even in a world full of hate towards each other due to differences, it takes a lot of courage to move past and fight against that as a big community of generations of Hispanics.
The club meets monthly and has activities and meetings that the club members go to and have to participate in to keep the club active and going. They then discuss current events and what else they might do in the near future. The club then celebrates the culture, attends events, and also visits local universities. One of the celebrations they do to honor the culture is to celebrate Día de lo Muertos, which is honoring the dead. Dia de los Muertos is an important event honoring and celebrating the dead. This important tradition comes from the Native people of Mexico, who came from ancient indigenous rituals in the Aztec festival known as Miccahuitl. They then made Alebrijes to honor the dead and the culture. Alebrijes are brightly colored, crafted, fantastical creatures in Mexican folklore. Helping to regain and remember ancient Mexican traditions to remind the people of how strong the community has come together in time.
The club, being student-affiliated and organized, helps the students become great leaders. Not only is this one of the great abilities you could gain and learn from being in the club, but learning skill development, networking knowledge, and exploring new interests. Lastly, this club is a really good organization to join, know, and learn about to learn about your peers and be observant, and acknowledge those around you. Or even joining it and learning about the community could do good to open your mind to those around you more.
