Livestream of the entire Fresno State Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration held May 16 in the Save Mart Center on campus. Believed to be the largest of its kind in the nation, the celebration honored the student founders of the event that started with 57 students May 20, 1977 and has grown to 1,134 students this year in front of about 16,000 supporters.
CSU Chancellor keynotes 50th Fresno State Chicano/Latino Commencement:
‘… largest bilingual, bicultural affinity graduation celebration in the entire country’
(MAY 20, 2026) — Fresno State celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration May 16 before a record 1,134 grads and a full-house Save Mart Center that seats 16,000-plus in its bowl.
In a unique commencement appearance, California State University Chancellor Dr. Mildred Garcia delivered the keynote after an introduction by University President Saúl Jiménez Sandoval (a CVHEC board member).
Chancellor Garcia dances with Dr. Victor Torres, CLCC coordinator (from Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez Sandoval Instagram).
Chcancellor Garcia commended the founders of the celebration who were honored that night.
“I’m delivering just one commencement keynote address this year and it’s this one,” she told the Class of 2026.
“Because of who you are and what you represent and what this celebration represents. This is not just the largest cultural celebration at Fresno State, it is one of the largest — if not the largest bilingual, bicultural affinity graduation celebration in the entire country. But as you have heard, it started small. It started with an idea: the recognition of a need for a culturally and linguistically relevant celebration that connected las familias — the families — with la comunidad — the community. Tony Garduque, Manuel Olguin, Francis Pena Olguin and Professor Ernesto Martinez made this idea a reality.”
Also participating in the founders platform party that night was CVHEC communications lead Tom Uribes who provided the event’s first media coverage in 1977 as a student journalist and every year thereafter that he served as PIO for Fresno State in his 30-year career with the university. Alumni Diana Gomez and Martina Granados, who was a student speaker in 1991 and is currently interim associate vice president of Enrollment Management, also were honored in the platform.
CLCC Director Dr. Victor Torres said this was the largest CLCC class since the event began May 20, 1977, that honored 58 grads.
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