By Laura Aviles, Staff Writer
The lights were off, the music was on, the food was served, the flavors were mixed and the people, well the people were ready for the second Regional Night of Fall 2016.
Laura Quinteros and Juan Carlos Quiroga presented the first performance of the nigth (Photo courtesy by Yashwant Neti)
The second Regional Night of this semester was held on Saturday, November 19. The event was promoted by the African Business Club, the Middle Eastern and North African Club (MENA) and the Latin American Club. The displays of different cultures were at their peak, as people enjoyed the diverse cuisines, music, dances and performances. Regional Night celebrates the different cultures that T-birds represent, with the opportunity to experience and demonstrate the uniqueness of each region.
The celebration was hosted by Gabrielle Gueye (MAGAM ’17, U.S.), Nick Penna (MGM ’17, Australia) and Juan Carlos Quiroga (MGM ’17, Bolivia), who were the emcees for the night. The mix of culture and participation was high, with more than 40 people on stage and 10 different performances made by Underbirds, T-birds, and alumni.
Underbirds (Photo courtesy by Yashwant Neti)
The first performance of the night was a mix of Latino dances by Laura Quinteros (MAGAM ’18, Colombia) and Juan Carlos Quiroga, including tango, salsa, Latin pop, Reggaeton, and axe. Then, it was the turn of the African Business Club, which had three different demonstrations: a poem, a fashion show and a dance with songs from Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. The poem “The rose that grew from concrete” was recited by Nuno Muamdumba (MAGAM ’18, Angola). It tells the story of seeing past people’s shortcomings and seeing the beauty in their struggle. “Even a rose that grows from concrete is beautiful despite its dirty petals and crooked stem,” said Nuno. Next came the dance performance, which featured the participation of more than 15 T-birds on stage. As everybody began to dance, the stage fell down, literally, which symbolized the hunger for more performances.
“The rose that grew from concrete” by NunoMuamdumba (Photo courtesy by Yashwant Neti)
Annaliese Pickett and Dylan Kuchan, a couple of Thunderbird undergraduates (Underbirds) getting their Bachelor’s in Global Management (BGM), played the fiddle. Following, Mohammed Kashgari (MAGAM ’18, Saudi Arabia) from the MENA club played the Oud (a pear-shaped stringed instrument) and captivated the audience with melodies from the Middle Eastern region. Next was the performance of Dave’s Debut, which featured a skit of typical situations during classes. This was performed by two alumni who, coincidentally, are both named David Roman. After, the audience was delighted by an entertaining Spanish skit, performed by Nick Penna and Kristoffer Lysgaard (MAGAM ’18, Norway).
The last part of this festive journey was formed by a series of dancers. First, a Persian dance called Baba Karam was performed by Sogol Homayoun (alumni and current staff of Thunderbird), Bahar Fatima Heravy (MAGAM ’17, Afghanistan) and Sarthak Agrawal (MGM ’17, India). Next, a salsa dance dominated the stage, accompanied by one of the most popular songs of Marc Anthony, “Vivir Mi Vida,” performed by Briana Tapia (MGM ’16, Mexico) and Carlos Melendez (MGM ’16, Venezuela). The night closed with the participation of 10 T-birds on stage dancing to two different modern Latino songs and inviting everybody to dance as the public announced the desire to continue the celebration post-event at the Pub.
African Fashion Show (Photo courtesy by Yashwant Neti)
Latina Dancers (Photo courtesy by Griffin Adwoa)
All of this amazing night wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of the Event Planners from TSG, TSG members and volunteers who helped during the event. The Event Planners, formed by Briana Tapia, Anisha Saini (MGM ’17, India), Kayla McNamara (MGM ’17, USA), Jess Humphries (MAGAM ’18, USA) and Sarthak Agrawal organized and coordinated this massive event in record time. Their dedication was key to the success of this event.