EDITORS: Full 2005 Commencement schedule attached or see links at www.FresnoStateNews.com. See the 2005 Commencement News Web Site.

Cinco de Mayo will be observed at California State University, Fresno with the annual Semana de la Raza celebration May 2 through 6.

The weeklong observance is for the Mexican holiday commemorating the victory of the Mexican troops over the French Army in the 1862 Battle of Puebla.

Organized by the student organization El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), Semana de la Raza begins Monday May 2 with Aztec dancers at 11 a.m. in the Peace Garden on campus.

The observance will be highlighted with the Cinco de Mayo Faire on Thursday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Memorial Garden. The garden is located in front of the Kennel Bookstore.

Closing ceremonies will be Friday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cesar Chavez Monument in the Peace Garden on campus followed by a poetry reading by Jimmy Santiago Vaca.

The reading, presented by the Chicano Writers Association, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Peters Auditorium of the Peters Business Building. A reception follows in the Duncan Patio.

See the Semana schedule for daily activities at www.FresnoStateNews.com.

The Battle of Puebla occurred in the small city of Puebla near Mexico City 142 years ago.

Poorly equipped and undermanned Mexican soldiers, fighting to save their homeland, engaged and defeated 4,500 French troops under General Lorenz. The Mexicans were commanded by Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza under President Benito Juarez.

In the ensuing year, the Mexicans kept the French invaders preoccupied and unable to help the Confederate states in the U.S. Civil War. With the Union restored, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln helped the Mexicans finally rid their homeland of the French.

For more information on Semana de La Raza, call (559) 281-6889 or email sweetwater118@csufresno.edu or sol4ms@csufresno.edu.

In other Cinco de Mayo activity, Los Danzantes de Aztlan, the Mexican folkloric dance troupe of the Chicano Latino Studies Department, will perform at Merced City College on May 3 at 6:55 p.m. For more details on that performance: (559) 278-2848.