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PHOTOS: Mexican Independence Day Celebration at Four Rivers Cultural Center

Kenly Molina, 5, from Payette whacks the daylights out of a piñata at the Mexican Independence Day Celebration at Four Rivers Cultural Center Sunday, Sept. 15. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

ONTARIO – Today is Mexico’s Independence Day, but the fun kicked off yesterday in Ontario with a celebration at Four Rivers Cultural Center. The free event now in its seventh year brought folks from across the Treasure Valley for traditional Mexican food, dancing, mariachi and piñatas.

Children make a run for the candy spilling out of a gutted piñata. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

Carolina Gomez, recruiter for the Migrant Education Program at the Ontario School District, sells “aguas frescas,” a popular Mexican drink that can be made from fruits, barley or flowers. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

Dancers from the Nampa-based Ballet Folklórico Mexico Lindo performed dances associated with the Mexican revolution, including “La Adelita” which honors a Mexican archetype of a female warrior not unlike World War II’s Rosie the Riveter, explained Monique Michelle, the dance troupe’s leader. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

Irma Montor-Gil, originally from Acapulco, Mexico, has lived in Ontario for over 30 years. She came out to celebrate with a dress embroidered by hand in Guadalajara. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

Young dancers from the Ballet Folklórico Mexico Lindo wait their turn onstage. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

A young guitarist from the Mariachi Juveníl de Mi Tierra gets soulful during a performance at the event. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

Evangelina Saldate from Caldwell helps her daughter Kitzia Orendain prepare for a revolution-themed dance performance with a bandolier. (The Malheur Enterprise/Yadira Lopez)

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