By Guadalupe Santos-Sanchez, Staff Reporter | Photos Courtesy of Alana Garcia
CNM departments and clubs participated in the 22nd Annual South Valley Marigold Parade for the first time on Nov. 2, said Libby Fatta, Student Events and Programs manager for the Dean of Students office.
The Office of the Dean of Students, the South Valley Connect Team, the Hispanic Heritage Task Force, and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society decorated a CNM vehicle with paper marigold flowers that they made, she said.
Student club Artworks set up a booth and sold decorated skulls and other ceramics to raise money for workshops and events, said Elizabeth Chavez, Artworks president.
“There’s a lot of different community floats and other organizations participating in the parade so I thought it would be fun for CNM to participate as well and show our school spirit and show what we have to offer as a community college,” Fatta said.
Due to the rain, only a small number of staff participated and not as many people showed up as they would have liked, she said.
The crowd, however, was very interested in the CNM car as they passed by, she said.
“They cheered as we passed them and I think next year we will have a much better turn out since this was the first year CNM participated in the parade,” she said.
Fatta hopes that more people will want to participate in the parade next year and maybe the school will be able to have a float that students help create, she said.
They were able to promote CNM well this year and next year they would like to get more people involved to have a larger CNM presence, she said.
The group involved with the vehicle wore CNM or navy and yellow attire and the traditional Dia de Los Muertos skull makeup, Fatta said.
Artworks also promoted the club and brought awareness to potential students and artists about the opportunities at CNM, said Candice Chavez, Artworks vice president.
Artworks was excited to participate in the community event, to stimulate public interest in arts education, and to create a connection to the wider arts community, she said.
It was a great opportunity for CNM and its clubs to be showcased and to show that there is school spirit and participation in community events, Fatta said.
This year the Marigold Parade theme was, “El agua es la vida. No se vende. Se defiende.” meaning that water is life; it is not sold, it is defended, according to muertosymarigolds.org.
The theme was water because it is a crucial issue in the state and the city, the development projects are no good and water is needed, said Maria Brazil, Co-Director of the Marigold Parade.
The parade started off at the South Valley Sheriff Substation and ended at the Westside Community Center, Fatta said.
The parade is always on the first Sunday of November, which in 2015 would be Nov. 1, Brazil said.
The route is also basically the same every year, she said.
All decorations and altars left at the center were cleared out that same day at the end of the event, said Stacy Ruiz, Coordinator at the Westside Community Center.