SU’s crochet club, MEXSA gather to create traditional Mexican patterns
The Traditional Mexican Crochet event on Tuesday night garnered a larger turnout than Crocheting for the ’Cuse Community usually gets. Students were looking for a chance to unwind amid midterms season. Nathaniel Harnedy | Contributing Photographer
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A colorful display of yarn and a multitude of free-to-grab snacks were lined up ready for students in a room in the Hall of Languages. Students sat in groups with their friends, preparing to crochet a new project.
“We were all in class before this, and this just seemed like a good way to unwind,” Syracuse University freshman Camille Honrade said.
On Tuesday, members of the Mexican Student Association partnered with Crocheting for the ‘Cuse Community for a Latine Heritage Month event. Students learned how to crochet traditional Mexican patterns.
Nasya Bellard, the crochet club’s president, and Jesús Tiburcio Zane, the Mexican Student Association’s outreach chair, hosted the event in the Hall of Languages.
Collaborating with an identity-based registered student organization was new for the crochet club, Bellard said. MEXSA and Crocheting for the ‘Cuse Community decided to come together for this event because of the importance of community and taking a break when needed, Bellard said.
“I feel like we both just wanted an event that was kind of relaxed and more so just something that can bring our two organizations together in a mixer way,” Bellard said.
Attendees accessed the crochet patterns through a QR code that led to a collaborative Pinterest board filled with different kinds of Mexican crochet, including Mexican dolls, skull candies and mandalas.
The crochet club’s education director used a papel picado pattern as an example for the group. Papel picado is a traditional Mexican form of art that includes cutting colorful tissue paper into different designs and shapes to use as banners and decorations.
The crochet club provides access to materials during its meetings, which is one of sophomore Keira Chang’s favorite parts of events like this. Chang also enjoys the variety involved in the club.
“They bring in different people every week,” Chang said. “I usually go every single week, and I feel like I see different people every time.”
Tiburcio Zane said one of his favorite parts of the event was the nostalgia that crocheting brought him, as crochet is a big part of Mexican history. He said a majority of MEXSA’s executive board members, including himself, grew up watching family members and grandparents crochet.
“It was touching on that nostalgia and kind of bringing it up again right now to just relive those ideas,” Tiburcio Zane said.
