Mexico and Central America Global Faire: A Community Event

By Olivia Westervelt '27

Profe Tania holding a box of conchas.

Global Faire is a classic College Prep occasion. In the months leading up to this year’s Mexico and Central America Global Faire, the World Languages department worked around the clock to painstakingly organize the vendors, booths, music, and logistics of the event, in order to properly represent and celebrate the traditions and cultures of the Central American region.

On the day of, Ms. Alicia arrived on campus early to work on her poster, Panamanian Roots of Reggaeton. She arrived so early, in fact, that the school was empty and the gym deck was icy from the overnight freeze. In previous years, Global Faire took place outside on the courtyard, and for the past two Global Faires I’ve experienced, the weather was nothing short of perfect. But this winter’s chilly temperatures was one of the reasons why Global Faire was held inside the gym instead.

One family brought salsa made in a 100-year-old family heirloom molcajete (traditional Mexican mortar and pestle made from basalt volcanic stone). 

Families, students, and Linh cooked, baked and brought countless items: alfajores, mochi muffins, tres leches cakes, and tons of rice. 

Students and teachers alike did not hesitate to step in and help others set up their booths in the frenzy that preceded the event. Students also did not hesitate to squeeze through crowds, queue up, and grab food the very second it became available.

Students putting salsa on the delicious mini tamales from Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas, a local Tamales shop with roots in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. Find out about Alicia’s journey here or here.

Students sauntered around the gym, playing games and learning from the numerous tri-folds created by CPS students and faculty. You can revisit the Global Faire through this playlist created by Tom Winterbottom.

Lucas ‘26 busily serving at a fruit stand booth.

CPS students clapped and stomped along, laughing with friends to the beats of La Mezcla, a “polyrhythmic, San Francisco-based dance and music ensemble rooted in Chicana, Latina and Indigenous traditions and social justice.”

This Global Faire was a wonderful, colorful celebration of Central American culture.The event fundamentally captured the best parts of CPS community: the enthusiastic sharing and receiving of knowledge, the unconditional support of others, and the enjoyment of delicious, abundant food.