A Cinco de Mayo celebration featuring child and adult speakers, dance performances, food and a sale drew nearly 100 people on Friday to the Blanche Galloway Room of Madera’s public library.
The event featured children in the nonprofit organization Pequeños Empresarios, which means Young Entrepreneurs. The organization operates a program to teach children how to speak, write and read Spanish through free tutoring sessions held weekly in the Madera County Library headquarters. Children in the program shared their experiences in Spanish.
The celebration also featured Jose Antonio Ramirez, the city manager for Livingstone. He spoke about going to college and encouraged program participants to become fluent in Spanish.
“You are worth two people if you maintain the language of your parents and the one you’ve learned here. You need to know English and Spanish very well. I encourage you to continue working and excelling in both,” said Ramirez...