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FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - It began arsenic a master's thesis astir 50 years ago, and contiguous it's the largest taste graduation astatine Fresno State. The Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration has grown from conscionable 58 students to implicit 1,000, filling the Save Mart Center with much than 14,000 household members, friends, and supporters successful the stands.
It started successful 1977 and has grown into a vale tradition. The Fresno State Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration celebrates not conscionable graduates but the families and communities that carried them here.
The ceremonial was created by Manuel Olgin and Tony Garduque, 2 Vietnam veterans who wanted Fresno State students to acquisition the aforesaid pridefulness they witnessed astatine San Jose State which was precise antithetic from their acquisition backmost home. Olgin recalls wanting more.
"You basal up, beryllium down and that was graduation. And the radical successful the stands were blessed and proud, but that was it," said Olgin. "In San Jose, we saw the quality of giving your parent a rose, and that felt bully successful our hearts and truthful we wanted to bash it too."
With assistance from Frances Pena and Ernest Martinez, the precise archetypal ceremonial brought unneurotic students, staff, and the community. By the mid-90s, it became portion of Fresno State arsenic an affinity radical celebration, contempt facing absorption from the university. Today, Dr. Victor Torres coordinates the ceremony, which is inactive wholly tally by volunteers.
For Dr. Torres, the meaning of this solemnisation is profoundly tied and connected to history.
"To truly admit the value of the Chicano Latino Commencement Celebration, you person to beryllium rooted successful the humanities governmental acquisition of Chicano Latinos successful the United States, peculiarly present successful California," said Dr. Torres. "You person to recognize that your grandparents were astir apt punished for speaking Spanish successful school, written language, the Spanish connection denigrated. You speech astir Chicano Latinos not receiving a prime acquisition successful precocious school, hence you had Chicano students locomotion retired arsenic a protest. You had the segregation of Mexican students successful 1949 to the 1950s to alleged Mexican schools, wherever they received inferior education. So, to deliberation astir that humanities discourse and deliberation astir wherever we're astatine contiguous and erstwhile we person a 1000 graduates and 13,000 families celebrating the achievement, it's a mode that this ceremonial reclaims academia for Latinos."
From the beginning, the ceremonial has been astir much than degrees; it's astir identity. And reclaiming that individuality was a rallying constituent for many.
"I retrieve being a Chicano successful precocious school, and that was a derogatory connection to my parents' generation, but to my sister and I, it wasn't derogatory. Growing up successful the '60s, it was a rallying point, a accidental for Chicanos to amusement your pridefulness and your culture. And truthful I've had that since forever," said Olgin.
For Francis Pena Olgin, that aforesaid pridefulness meant breaking barriers for women successful her community.
"So increasing up successful a tiny municipality arsenic a Latina and arsenic a Chicana, I deliberation it was precise hard due to the fact that determination were expectations, you travel from a precise accepted Mexican household and the anticipation is that you, you get married, and person kids," said Pena Olgin.
Instead, she pursued higher acquisition and created a abstraction wherever her parents and thousands of others could yet consciousness seen.
"I deliberation the crushed we worked connected the Chicano Commencement Celebration is due to the fact that the regular graduation didn't truly supply a spot for our parents to consciousness comfortable, but erstwhile they participated successful the Chicano Commencement, it was antithetic due to the fact that they were surrounded by radical similar themselves. They understood what was going on, they felt precise a portion of what was going on, precise comfortable. and they conscionable felt precise proud," said Pena Olgin.
Nearly 5 decades later, the lawsuit is the largest of its benignant successful the nation. Despite its size, it feels much similar a backyard enactment afloat of vibrant colors, flags, and taste music.
Unlike different ceremonies, it focuses connected the families, arsenic students' names are called, the names of their parents are besides said successful designation of their captious relation successful that student's success.
"So it truly is an event, you know, wherever you genuinely consciousness seen and celebrated," said Dr. Estevan Parra-Guerrero, an alumnus who has walked successful the ceremonial and is present a volunteer. "To person the mariachi dancers and successful the assemblage the wide capableness of radical who look similar you and our allies, due to the fact that each are invited to beryllium portion of this event. It's conscionable a beauteous celebration, you know, it makes getting to the extremity worthy it."
From its humble beginnings to thousands of radical successful the stands, the Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration has ever been astir honoring the past portion inspiring the future.
"The pridefulness of the vale is me, and the pridefulness of the vale is us," said Olgin. "You're Fresno State and we don't instrumentality a 2nd spot to anybody due to the fact that wherefore should we? We were present before. We are Native American this is our land; you are our guest. Go to your Chicano Commencement, observe accomplishment, observe radical due to the fact that they emotion you, they're arrogant of you. They whitethorn not archer you, but what you're telling them is that you tin bash it. And if I did it, you tin bash it. That's a everlastingly statement. Go dogs!"
