The annual Mexican Independence Day parade honors the courage and resilience of the Latino community

Despite the fear of the ongoing immigration raids, the annual Mexican Independence Day parade and festival took place on Sunday in East Los Angeles with hundreds of people attending.

On its 79th edition, this year the parade honored Mexican-American engineer and former NASA astronaut Jose M. Hernandez as the Grand Marshall.

Hernandez is the epitome of focus and purpose. The son of Mexican immigrant farmworkers would often move from farm to farm, but never lost his goal. After applying 11 times,  he was selected as an astronaut in 2004. Five years later he flew on the STS-128 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

His successful journey was recreated in the movie “A Million Miles Away.”

Hernandez said he was honored to be part of the parade and said East L.A. brings back really good memories. 

“When I was young I had a ‘64 Chevrolet Impala and I drove several times from Stockton to Whittier Blvd. when cruising was very popular in the 80s,” said Hernandez.

Among other participants were Mexican American Mariachi Julian Torre, radio hosts Luis Sandoval and Erika Reyna, and comedian Luis de Alba “El Pirruris.”

Torres said at this moment it is very important to show that Mexicans have a lot of support in the community and are helping each other. He said he felt very glad to be sharing the spotlight with Hernandez and other Latino leaders. 

“So it’s very important for us to be present, to be here and show that we’re still moving forward,” he said. 

Different entities with one simple message

Among the local elected officials who attended the parade were Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and LA Sheriff Robert Luna.

Luna said he was proud to be at the parade for two reasons: because this shows that LASD is present in the community 24/7 and because he was born and raised in East Los Angeles.

“It is my journey and this is where my family comes from. So I have a lot of pride here in East Los Angeles,” he said. 

He acknowledged the fact that many people are afraid to go out due to the massive immigration raids currently taking place  but he said having constant communication with and working together with local authorities is vital. 

“I want to stress to our community members, especially those from immigrant communities, that if you are a victim or a witness of crime you have to come forward, he said. “Trust us to work with you.”

Former Treasurer of the United States Rosario Marín said the culture, the heritage and showing where immigrants come from truly shows they are unafraid. 

“We don’t forget where we came from, and because of that, we don’t forget where we’re going,” she said. 

Marín is very empathetic for those who couldn’t show up to the festivities but said many others showed up in their representation, to send an important message that the immigrant community is here to stay.

“There are 64 million Hispanics across the United States and every year almost one million become age of 18. We are going nowhere,” she said. 

The parade was also an outlet to provide awareness and information throughout the parade and then the festival.

Maria Jimenez was attending with One Legacy, an organization dedicated to facilitating organ donations. She said she wanted to encourage more people to become donors, the same way her son did. 

“My son Adrian passed away from meningitis in 2014 and he was a very strong passionate advocate for organ donation,” she said. “So at 22 years old, he was able to donate and saved three moms. Two of them are here in Southern California.”

What is Mexican Independence Day

Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on September 16 to commemorate the country’s liberation from Spain in 1810. At dawn of September 16, Father Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, called on the people of Dolores Hidalgo, through the ringing of the church bells, to rise up in arms against Spanish rule.

Since then, every year on the night of September 15, the president of Mexico stands on the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City and delivers a speech similar to the one given by Father Hidalgo honoring those who fought for the country’s independence, ringing the same bell Hidalgo rang in 1810. 

The East L.A. Mexican Independence Day parade is organized by the Comité Mexicano Cívico Patriótico, with support of the General Consulate of Mexico in Los Angeles and the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, which is celebrating its 94 years of existence in Los Angeles.