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    Bakersfield College’s MEChA club will hold its second annual Noche de Cultura on Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. at the college’s Indoor Theater.

    The night will be filled with mariachi music, Aztec dance performers, ballet folklorico dancers, food, poetry, artifacts and some history lessons. Bakersfield Mayor Harvey Hall will be this year’s keynote speaker.

    The event was started by MEChA president Jesse Ibarra after he noticed that often times the news media portrayed Hispanics in a negative light.

    “We wanted to show the beauty of our culture,” Ibarra said. “We wanted to let people know that our history started thousands of years before Columbus landed in the Americas.”

    Some of the performers being featured at the event include local acts Mariachi Tenampa, the Bakersfield College Mariachi, Ballet Folklorico Huaztecalli and the West Coast Singers, along with Peruvian dancers, Filipino dancers and poetry readings.

    “This year we are expanding into other cultures,” Ibarra said. “The theme this year is embracing the beauty of our cultures.”

    All the funds raised at the event are used to provide scholarships for college students and to fund the annual MEChA youth conference.

    MEChA, which stands for El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán or the Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán, is a national student organization with chapters at colleges across the country.