On Monday night, the Mexican American Student Association (MASA) brought Livingston Lawn on Livingston campus to life with their annual Mexican Independence Day celebration, Plaza Mexico.
Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on September 16 to commemorate Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) on Sept. 16, 1810. This date, on which Father Hidalgo urged his congregation to take up arms and fight for Mexican Independence from Spain, is generally considered the beginning of Mexico’s War of Independence. MASA celebrated 216 years since Grito de Dolores and soon-to-be 205 years of Independence with food, games, dance and music.
Daniel Siegel
Here’s some of the delicious, free foods they had on offer!
Attendees began arriving and lining up for free food, drink and game tickets at approximately 6:30 p.m. The event was catered by Gallo Felix, a New Brunswick Mexican restaurant known for its pollo al carbón (charcoal-grilled chicken). At Plaza Mexico, they served rice and beans, chicken, pork, flautas, gorditas, empanadas and plantains. There was a constant line for food for well over an hour.
Plaza Mexico also featured aguas frescas from Costa Chica Mexican Restaurant & Pizzeria, another local New Brunswick spot, with flavors including horchata, pepino con limón (cucumber lime), pitaya (dragon fruit) and sandía (watermelon). Esquites (Mexican street corn salad) were also served, as well as classic Mexican bagged snacks, including Totis, provided by Bravo Supermarkets on George Street.
As more people arrived, drawn by the crowd and the news of free food, MASA President and School of Arts and Sciences senior, Jocylen Ortega, welcomed everyone and gave a rundown of the night’s events. In addition to food and drinks, attendees were invited to play small-net soccer and bottle-knockdown.
Some time after the sun went down, as people wrapped up their meals and mingled, MASA Vice President and School of Engineering senior Osmarc Gonzalez introduced himself. Gonzalez spoke about the importance of community, especially amidst attacks on Latin American immigrants in the U.S. recently. School of Arts and Sciences senior and first-generation Oaxacan American Evelin Ponce, who was in attendance, had a similar attitude about Mexican Independence Day.
“Right now, with everything going on, (Mexican Independence Day) means that we’re able to show who we are. And I think, no matter what, we’re Mexican. We’re always proud of it,” Ponce told The Daily Targum.
Gonzalez then introduced Baile Folklóricos Raíces Mexicanas, a Mexican folkloric dance group based in Union City. The group consisted of seven women and five men. The first number featured two couples dancing to the Polka song “Luz y Sombra,” which played over a sound system. The women wore white ruffled blouses, red skirts and red ribbons in their hair. The men wore white shirts, black pants and black cowboy-style hats. The dance featured lots of short leg kicks and spinning of the women.
The second number, “El Gusto” — a mariachi song — featured five women and four men. The women wore long, colorful dresses, which they kept on for the rest of the performance, and the men kept their black-and-white attire. The men danced around the women while they fanned their dresses high and wide. The fluidity with which the dancers moved perfectly embodied the spirit of independence.
After approximately an hour of folkloric dance, which kept the audience thoroughly engaged, Gonzalez came back out and thanked everyone involved with the event. He then introduced the conjunto (band). The group comprised a lead singer, a bajo sexto player who sang backup, a guitarist and a tubist.
The band opened with “El Camaleón,” a Cumbia song made famous by the northern Mexican group Los Tigrillos. A few brave souls immediately went to dance, with more gradually joining. Others preferred to end the night enjoying the music from a distance and chatting with friends.
Plaza Mexico truly encapsulated the vibrancy of the large Mexican community at Rutgers and in New Brunswick. Ponce, who was born and raised in New Brunswick, shared that the local Mexican community makes her feel as if she always has a piece of Mexico with her.
“I never miss Mexico in a certain sense, because (the community is) always there. I can always go to events. I can always get to enjoy the great food. (The community is) always there. It’s a piece of home here,” said Ponce.
If you’d like to experience additional Mexican cultural eventshere at Rutgers, you can look out for future MASA events on their Instagram page.
Dining and Cooking