On Tuesday, September 26, the Mexican Student Association, or MEXSA, hosted its second event of the semester at the Multicultural Center in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Providing free pizza, they invited everyone to come to the Center and make piñatas with colorful tissue and pre-cut fringe paper. The Center was full of people enjoying the food and listening to great music while making their colorful crafts.

While the event was small and casual, it was a great way for students to bond and appreciate Mexican and Hispanic Culture. Hispanic and non-Hispanic students alike were able to share this tradition and culture together, learning more about the rich history behind Hispanic heritage. Students were given an instruction sheet to help guide them through the craft, aiming for a fruit-themed piñata. But of course, students were able to style their piñatas however they wanted, ranging from watermelons and tacos to colorful flowers.

Yuliana Tapia López, the president of MEXSA, commented, “As Mexicans, we know that piñatas are a staple in our heritage, they’re traditional, and we use [them] in pretty much any celebration to honor our people. We use them in baptisms, birthdays, achievement celebrations— piñatas are always going to be there.”

López was happy to celebrate the art of piñatas and share it with everyone at Stockton. She was also surprised at the turnout; the Multicultural Center was crowded with people, both from inside and outside of MEXSA. The club members hadn’t expected so many people to arrive. “It really inspires us,” she added. “It makes us happy that non-Hispanic students are also here making piñatas, and that inspires us to make more events. [It’s great] to know that people who are not Hispanic took time out of their day to come here and make their own mini piñata, learning a bit about our culture.”

MEXSA’s Vice President, Katie Mendoza, was in agreement. “I think this event turned out to be way better than we expected; we had a lot of people show up and [they] showed off their arts and crafts skills on the table,” Mendoza stated.

Diana Sanchez, a sophomore, attended and enjoyed MEXSA’s event, stating, “I believe that events such as this definitely give us space to explore our own culture and also share it with others. It definitely brings a lot of joy, seeing how others enjoy it as much as I do.”

The Mexican Student Association’s next open event will be Lotería at 4:30 PM on Tuesday, October 10, hosted in the Arts and Science Building, Room 102. They will feature the iconic Lotería (Bingo) game that originated in Mexico and is played by many people in Latin America.