Mexican American Cultural Center

Tonight I attended the reception at the Mexican American Cultural Center. They had an art exhibit with work representing the Virgin of Guadalupe by Gilberto Cardenas. I really loved it! The building was absolutely beautiful and the art was amazing. Since I’m Catholic, I really appreciated the significance of this event. I was able to embrace my Mexican culture and my religious beliefs.

When I got there, I listened to the speakers. At first, they had the leaders from the Mexican American Cultural Center talk about the significance of the building and how amazing it was to have so many people at this special event. A sponsor told what the Virgin of Guadalupe does for us. He said "the poorest, meanest, and most innocent of us have the knowledge of being good as anyone else."They then had Gilberto Cardenas from the University of Notre Dame speak. I really admired him because of his amazing accomplishments. He got his Masters degree from Notre Dame which is pretty big in itself. He has written numerous books and articles. He now works in the Sociology Department at Notre Dame. He is considered one the top 100 most influential Latinos in the U.S. I love his confidence and strength as a Latino. It is not everyday you see someone from a Mexican background be so successful. Not too many people can overcome some racial obstacles that still exist in this world.

After the speakers, they had special performances which I really enjoyed. First, the St. Mary’s Cathedral Schola Cantorum performed. Their angelic voices definitely put everyone in the mood for Christmas. I thought that they were pretty amazing. They had little kids do some traditional Mexican dances which were great! They then had the Mariachi Jalisco perform. All the performances were amazing and really reflected the talent of the Mexican culture.

After the performances, I looked around at the art exhibit. They had a beautiful altar dedicated to the Virgin. It was decorated with flowers and her statue which was gorgeous. All the pieces of artwork had something to do with the Virgin of Guadalupe. Some of the pieces were paintings, drawings, sculptures, or quilts. They were really beautiful and sacred to me. Growing up, my family has held the Virgin in high respect as most Mexicans do. It is really nice to see such a magnificent display of the Mexican Culture at this event.

Overall, this experience was amazing. I felt so comfortable because I felt I had so much in common with all these people. It was really nice to see so many people there from all kinds of races not just Mexicans. Everyone should discover other people’s cultures. This experience really reminded me of our excursion to St. Mary’s Cathedral. I was able to learn a little bit more about my own heritage. We all need to know where we came from and never forget that.