Araceli Guenther has successfully led her role as president of the non-profit organization, Mexican Cultural Center (MCC), benefiting the Mexican and Latino community in the city of Philadelphia and its surroundings. Guenther has played a very community-focused role, encompassing the promotion of Mexico and its rich heritage, history, cuisine, and traditions, as well as providing services, conducting events, and achieving the organization’s independence. “Previously, we were in the offices of the Mexican Consulate, and since January of this year, we have our own space.”
The MCC works to build a stronger society by providing a space where people of different backgrounds can gather to celebrate shared values, experiences, and interests, thus enriching the cultural fabric of the community and promoting tolerance and acceptance.
Each year, it produces and organizes various events and activities to celebrate and promote Mexican culture, including the Mexican Independence Day Festival, Day of the Dead, Mexican Week in Philadelphia, Three Kings Day, among others.
In an exclusive interview with El Sol Latino Newspaper, Guenther shared her role as president, the activities the organization carries out, the current state of the Mexican community, and how they have reached out to the Latino community.
Why did you decide to become independent?
The Mexican Cultural Center was founded in 1994 by Mexican leaders like Dr. Castillo, who was one of those who truly initiated the MCC together with the Mexican Consulate.
The Mexican Consulate has staff that provides services for consular matters, and when I took over as president, I realized that we were not growing as an organization for the community. So, I spoke with the consul and told him that I had the plan for us to become completely independent.
For that, we needed an executive director who would be 100% dedicated and not just work on projects as they came up; that’s why there was no growth. Now we have two people, the executive director and the program director.
What is happening in the Mexican community in the city?
The Mexican community is very busy with their businesses, their families, taking advantage of educational opportunities and those presented to small businesses. It is a population group that, when I go through those areas, I love because you can see the work, you can see what they are doing, you can see that they are hardworking people who want to integrate 100%, including second and third generations.
What advice would you give to that Mexican community that is very united, strong, in many cities across the country?
The Latino community is not just Mexicans; it includes people from 20 regions of Latin America, and I assure you that there are people from those regions in different parts of the country. I think that as Latinos, we usually try to help each other and always invite others.
We never say that any event is just for Mexicans, never. When we hold activities, I see people from different Latin American countries attend.
An invitation for people who do not know about the organization
I recommend that you follow us on our social media, where we are very active so that people are informed about all the activities, events, and initiatives we carry out.
On Instagram, we are @mccphilly, and on Facebook as Mexican Cultural Center Philadelphia.
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