Bulldog red and blue confetti rained down from the Save Mart Center rafters on about 1,130 Fresno State graduates who attended the 50th Chicano Latino Commencement Celebration on May 16.
The celebration has come a long way over the past five decades since the first celebration was held at the Fresno Fairgrounds Industrial Education Building and Paul Paul Theater with 57 participants. The event began in 1977, when alumni Manuel Olgin and Tony Garduque launched and championed it as part of their graduate theses. Both went on to have long careers at Fresno State and returned this year to celebrate the event’s 50th anniversary.
Today, the event is the largest of its kind at any U.S. university, with nearly 13,000 in attendance annually. Known for its festive vibe that includes dancing, mariachi and inspirational speakers, the event is open annually to all graduating students who would like to participate, regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. One of the ceremony’s most cherished traditions is the reading of graduates’ parents’ names, recognizing the families who helped make their educational journeys possible.
Photos by Cary Edmondson (‘03); Written by Eddie Hughes (‘05)