Kayla Martinez/THE RIDER
La Unión Chicana de Hijxs de Aztlán, hosted Siempre con Nosotrxs event Tuesday which provided pan de muerto, poetry readings and live entertainment at the University Library lobby on the Edinburg campus.
The organization is a Mexican American studies chapter at UTRGV that prides itself on representing Mexican culture on campus through advocacy and community outreach, according to their page on V-Link.
“[The Día de los Muertos Convivió] was already a cornerstone of LUCHA,” said Jesus Quiroz, history senior and president of LUCHA. “It’s part of our cultura, so we wanted to make it bigger. There’s a community out there, so we need to embrace them, if they give [us] the time.”
This year, LUCHA invited five students from Universidad Tecnológica de Matamoros to participate in a cultural exchange through a presentation that took place before the convivió, where the students explained various Mexican traditions practiced during Día de los Muertos.
“Our teacher told us, ‘Hey, girls, there’s a culture exchange activity. Do you want to participate?’ And we were like, ‘Oh, yeah,’ because we are always expecting to visit [the university] and to learn new things about [UTRGV’s] culture,” said Isabelle Hernandez, an English teaching sophomore at UTM.
“I think that for us as Mexicans, we are really happy to see that you enjoy our culture,” Hernandez said. “Día de los Muertos is a celebration that is really emotional and so personal in Mexico. And we know that here, there are some Mexican students.”
Also hailing from Matamoros was UTM’s Dance Club, a Folklorico who won at the South Texas College Dance Competition State 2025 in McAllen.
Kayla Martinez/THE RIDER
The club performed a traditional Folklorico piece across the library lobby floor, complete with dresses, boots, and charro hats.
“There was a lot of dancing, it was really nice,” said Lexus Lopez, a former LUCHA officer and UTRGV alum who attended the event.
“I wish more people knew about LUCHA and what they do for the community, especially for us Hispanics,” Lopez said. “It’s such a beautiful thing to be part of this club. And I wish more people really know about it.”
According to the organization vice president Diego Vigil-Alas, LUCHA has grown in membership in the last two years.
“I think it’s due to the fact that we push that [LUCHA] is about our culture, and it’s about building community,” Vigil-Alas said.
Through annual toy drives and food donations, he added the organization takes great efforts to bring community engagement to students at UTRGV.
Vigil-Alas said he does not believe UTRGV promotes its Mexican culture enough.
“[UTRGV], not that it’s trying to suppress us or oppress us, but it’s trying to highlight the American and Texan culture,” he said. “We are in the borderlands. … There are people who cross every day just to engage with the U.S.A. … I would hope that [students] would seek that out instead of letting it wither down.”
Students interested in joining the organization can find it on V-Link under La Unión Chicana de Hijxs de Aztlán.
About The Author
