A Fresno State welcome with dance, music, tacos and a message

For the first time in three years due to the pandemic, Fresno State rolled out La Bienvenida (welcome) to students with music, dance and food in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Mariachi Orgullo Fresno State performed standards like ‘La Bikina’ and ‘Jesusita en Chihuahua,’ while Los Danzantes de Aztlán shared dances from Jalisco and Yucatán.

Participants chowed on tacos or ice cream during the Sept. 21 celebration near the Kennel Bookstore..

But, education was the No. 1 message delivered.

“I want to talk to you about what education means for our community,” said President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval. “It’s a journey of empowering oneself, but more than anything, education is the journey that empowers our families, our neighbors, the region.”

Jiménez-Sandoval, the university’s first immigrant president (he was born in Zacatecas, México), said education “showcases the importance of the Central Valley, not only to ourselves, but to California and the nation as a whole.”

Latinos account for more than half of the almost 23,000 students. Migrant student coordinator Ofelia Gámez said students of Mexican descent account for 50.9% of the enrollment.

Jiménez-Sandoval recalled seeing students during his 15 years as a Fresno State professor come into his classroom and feel “they did not belong because the buildings were too tall or the campus is super duper big.”

They eventually snapped out of that thinking, he said.

“That sense of belonging would really, really grow by the time they were seniors,” said Jiménez-Sandoval. “They had a sense of ownership because they belonged to Fresno State.”

The president told the students they need to “start that journey of belonging,” and to take ownership of the Valley.

“Become the leaders that are going to take this Valley to the next level, that are going to showcase the power of the Valley,” he said. “We need to believe in ourselves.”

Martina Granados, director of Outreach and Special Operations at Fresno State, was the main speaker. She focused on how her story is the same as most Latino students..

She was born in México, the middle of 14 children born to parents who would eventually move to the U.S. and work in the fields.

“I was the first in my family to graduate from high school. The first to move away from home without being married. The first to come to college,” said Granados. “I’m happy to say, though, that after I was the first one, I have not been the only one.

“I have 59 nieces and nephews, and a good chunk of them have also attended Fresno State. Some of them are talking about coming here.”

Granados said the college experience is not easy, “but you will not be alone.”

The focus on education gave way to folkloric dance.

Dr. Víctor Torres, director of Los Danzantes de Aztlán, reminded people that his group’s performance “is not just dance.”

“They provide a sense of belonging and a sense of familia (family) on campus,” said Torres.

The dance group was founded in 1971 to do just that, he said. “The legacy continues.”