This year's celebration of Mexican Independence Day will change one tradition and possibly start another.
It will be the first time the Mexican flag will be raised at 8 a.m. at Scholes Hall instead of at noon.
The celebration will be at noon on Smith Plaza. It will also be the first time UNM's Ballet Folklorico and Mariachi Lobo groups will perform together.
"We have been waiting for it for six years," said Vicente Griego, student program adviser at El Centro de la Raza. "We've always talked about it because they go together so nicely."
Sept. 16, or diecisÇis de septiembre, commemorates 194 years of Mexican independence from Spain.
Griego said he expects a huge turnout for today's events.
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He said it doesn't matter if the ceremony-starting flag is raised at 8 a.m. or at noon.
"The fact that we are having this event, that we will be together as a community and in spirit - we are the flag," Griego said.
Smith Plaza is in front of Zimmerman Library.
La Banda de Guerra, a traditional band from Chihuahua, Mexico will perform a ceremony. Members will salute the Mexican flag at Scholes Hall at noon and proceed to the plaza afterward. The band is made of school children, and is similar to the ROTC Color Guard, said Mayra Flores, student coordinator for Innovative and Cultural Programs at El Centro.
Flores, who was part of the band growing up, said being a part of it is a way for kids to honor their school and country and feel proud they are Mexican.
"We don't have a strong military we can be proud of," Flores said. "You aren't encouraged to join the army or the navy. You are encouraged to be a part of the band."
La Banda de Guerra will be followed by UNM's Ballet Folklorico group, which will perform traditional Mexican dances. The group will also collaborate with Mariachi Lobo.
Aaron Salas, student programs coordinator for Innovative and Cultural Programs at El Centro, said part of the reason Sept. 16 is celebrated in the United States is to educate students about Mexican Independence Day.
"A lot of people think that is what Cinco de Mayo is, but it's not," Salas said.
Part of the event includes an information board with the history of the day. Today's events are sponsored by El Centro and start off De Colores, a Hispanic culture festival celebrated in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Wednesday.
