Great weather combined with great entertainment to equal a fun and welcoming 10th annual celebration of Cinco de Mayo on the Auraria Campus, May 5.
Representatives from the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State College and Community College of Denver worked together to organize the festivities staged outside the Tivoli Student Center.
CU Denver student Christian Tello played a key role in finding and coordinating the performers. "He really took the lead in this effort because he said to me that he wanted performances that could be appreciated by the students. With that in mind," Angela Marquez, executive director, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Educational Opportunity Programs explained, "he booked not only traditional Mexican music with marriachis, but also other forms of music that celebrated the generations of Latino culture - which included cumbia, folklorico dancers, Latin jazz, Mexican rock and Latin hip hop with break dancers." The Mexican rock band and the Latin hip hop performers are all CU Denver students.
Additionally, Tello and fellow student Anthony Mc Cree (both students in the College of Arts & Media Audio Engineering program) ran the sound equipment and ensured the performances were set up -- very good hands-on experience tied to their academic program.
Traditional Mexican food also was available for purchase, and there were other student information booths on site.