OGDEN -- Outside the center's gym, Xavion Brock, 7, stood at the ready with bat in hand, his fellow pinata-slayers eagerly clutching dismembered paper limbs, eyes trained on their prize. Blindfolded, he swung. The pinata cracked.
Eventually, their target split open and dropped its sugary guts. More than a dozen children immediately swarmed on the treats -- Hershey bars and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, among others.
All of them are far removed from the Mexican army's victory over the French 149 years ago, but for an afternoon, children of every background took part in a lasting Mexican tradition.
The Marshall White Center held its annual Cinco de Mayo celebration Wednesday afternoon, complete with games, dances, a car show and demonstrations of the center's programs, such as boxing and karate.
For some, the event is a way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo as a community, before family celebrations today, May 5 -- the translation and actual date. For others, it was also a chance to show off their talent and culture.
About halfway into the three-hour party, 10 girls danced onto the center's gym floor, a rainbow of bright colors and floral fabric. Flowers in their hair, they bowed and twirled their dresses to the music.
At the end of the dance, Mariam Trujillo, 15, ran up to her friend and tried to pull him in to dance with her. He resisted, but she finally was able to get him into the Sinaloa dance for a few quick steps before he darted off.
"He's shy," she said. But she showed initiative and a strong will, two principles the dance program is trying to instill in her.
The Mount Ogden Junior High School Gear Up program, a partnership with Weber State University, is a Mexican ballet dance class that is meant to empower students and encourage them to succeed in life and seek higher education.
"If you connect it to culture and tradition, students get interested," said Monica Rodriguez, the school's GEAR UP adviser.
The system children grow up in can make them feel as though they have been labeled for failure, when they have every potential to succeed, she said. The Hispanic community needs educated leaders, she added.
Trujillo and her fellow dancers related how, on top of how much fun learning the dances is, the program also has encouraged them to focus on their futures.
They were not the only ones dancing at the event.
Joey Gallegos' white Monte Carlo bounced and rocked back and forth on hydraulics in the basketball court outside to the beat of "Bounce Rock Skate Roll." He even took it for a few laps around the court -- tilted so one front wheel was several feet off the ground.
He won the dance competition, but Beto Favela took home the award for best in show and best interior among lowrider cars with his light-green 1964 Chevrolet Impala.
His was one of about two dozen restored cars that were entered in the event's annual car show.
Favela was all smiles. He has poured thousands of dollars and several years into a car he bought 12 years ago for $500.
"It was worth (that much)," he said. "It was not much of a car."
Friend Reggie Ramos came by in his dark-green 1978 Chevrolet Stepside, which won best lowrider truck. The vehicle was a high school graduation present from his father, who received it from Ramos' grandfather. It has a lot of sentimental value, he said, but taking home an award isn't bad either.
Children at the event also went home with full stomachs, painted cheeks and memories to last until next Cinco de Mayo.
The Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership was able to make all of the games at the event free by shifting more funding for its annual Cinco de Mayo plans in the budget, said program manager Jill Oberndorfer.
In previous years, attendees purchased tickets to spend on games.
Comments