CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO), Hundreds of students filled the courtyard at McCormick Elementary, a Chicago Public School in Little Village, Tuesday, many dressed in traditional clothing or the colors of their families’ home countries, to celebrate El Grito.
The annual event featured music, folklórico dancing and a reenactment of the call associated with the start of Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain.
But for Assistant Principal Fanny Medina, the celebration is also about making sure students see themselves in their school.
“I think it's something that they should be aware of and that they should be proud of, especially when the world around them sometimes is making them question whether or not they belong here,” Medina said. “And so I think it's important that they are being acknowledged.”
About half of McCormick’s roughly 440 students are English learners or bilingual students who speak Spanish at home, Medina said. The school offers Spanish as a world language and incorporates both English and Spanish into school life.
McCormick’s families have roots across Latin America, including Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia and Honduras. Students arrived in red, white and green, traditional dresses, soccer jerseys and clothing representing other countries.
“We don't want it only to be about Mexico,” said Alejandra Reyes, a resource coordinator with Enlace Chicago at McCormick. “We want it to be about all of the other countries that we have here at the school.”
El Grito commemorates the 1810 call associated with Miguel Hidalgo that helped launch Mexico’s war for independence. Mexico celebrates Independence Day on Sept. 16.
For some McCormick students, the tradition has become part of their own childhood in Chicago.
“It's a core memory for them,” Medina said. “We definitely have a lot of alumni that come back and mention it, and they remember the event.”
The celebration kicks off a month of Hispanic Heritage activities at McCormick, including morning announcements highlighting historical figures and classroom projects incorporating Hispanic history and culture.
At McCormick Elementary, part of Chicago Public Schools, El Grito is a lesson in Mexican history and a celebration of the cultures represented in its classrooms.
At McCormick Elementary, part of Chicago Public Schools, El Grito is a lesson in Mexican history and a celebration of the cultures represented in its classrooms.
