PHARR -- Frida De La Garza enjoys learning about how her ancestral homeland liberated itself from Spain nearly two centuries ago.

But her favorite part of celebrating Diez y Seis is the food.

"I love Mexican food," said Frida, a 10-year-old fifth-grade student at Pharr Elementary.

Frida and the 700-some other students participated in that school's annual celebration of Mexico's independence from Spain on Tuesday with traditional dishes including flautas, tamales, rice, beans and everyone's favorite: pan dulce.

Children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade also wore traditional garments, recited poems and presented class projects on the history of the holiday.

Pharr Elementary began celebrating Mexican Independence Day about 13 years ago as a way to teach the children about their culture and further help them learn Spanish, said Marta Chavez, the school's facilitator. The elementary school has a dual-language program in which students have classes both in English and Spanish to help them become bilingual and biliterate.

"We wanted them to become bicultural," Chavez said.

Pharr Elementary started the annual celebration years ago with a large-scale, school-wide event outdoors but later moved it inside for safety reasons, Chavez said. Now classes decide how they want to commemorate the day.

Among its other benefits, the event also gives the school another opportunity to involve parents in their children's education. Mothers and fathers are responsible for bringing in food for the event. Some parents even stay to celebrate, Chavez said.

Eva Campos rushed to Pharr Elementary to take part in the activities with her son Ruben, a fifth-grader.

"We love it," said Campos, who also used to celebrate with her older son when he attended the school. "It's like a group family here."

Campos said she appreciates that the school teaches her children English and Spanish as well as history and culture.

Several of the students said they also celebrate Mexican Independence Day at home.

"My sister has an old (folklorico) suit (from) when we lived in Mexico," said Yohanna Orellana, an 8-year-old third-grader. "This year I put on the dress and she showed me how to dance."

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.