Warm tortillas and carne asada perfumed the evening air as hanging tangerine, fuschia and lightsaber blue papel picado beckoned incoming students and their families onto the A building terrace of San Diego City College.
For students and loved ones attending, Noche de Familia on Sept. 20 was no ordinary get-together – it was a celebration.
Ivette Gastelum attended with her 19-year-old son Maximus.
“When I come to these events, and they talk to me about him, it’s something very beautiful,” she said about Maximus, a communications major and student panelist that evening.
She continued in Spanish with tears in her eyes, “I know what my son is, and to see him recognized, and loved and cherished is very beautiful.”
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The pair was among roughly 500 attendees, according to student outreach coordinator and event organizer Clarissa Padilla.
“Initially, we were shooting for, like, 200 would be amazing, but the number was overwhelming,” Padilla said. “And it was a good overwhelming.”
Attendees let out gleeful gritos as a mariachi belted “Hermoso Cariño,” popularly performed by the late Vicente Fernandez.
After a welcome greeting, a parent testimonial from Ivette Gastelum and a student panel featuring Maximus Gastelum, Padilla invited students and their families to enjoy featured activities throughout campus.
That included a presentation on the history of lowriders, a planetarium show, and a tour of the RTVF TV studio where participants were able to anchor and produce a news segment.
Club tables, resource booths and educational workshops provided further theme-related points of interest for attendees.
The motto for the occasion was “Si, vale la pena,” the theme for all Latinx events this school year.
For Padilla, it was important that both students and their families felt welcomed and part of the college experience.
“We need to do something to celebrate (students and families), to bring them together, to show that we are reflecting their culture, their values and that they belong here with us,” Padilla said in an interview via Zoom on Thursday, Sept. 14.
For Ivette Gastelum, who dreamt of being a teacher but was unable to pursue her dream, being on her son’s college campus filled her with joy.
“I know it makes him happy that we’re here,” she said, “and us too. I feel very comfortable every time I come.”
