Annual ‘International Festival’ celebrates culture with food, song, dance

The International Festival made its annual return to the University of New Mexico for the 21st time on Thursday, April 16, with food trucks and local vendors on Cornell Mall. The festival was hosted by a variety of University international programs and organizations where students and faculty created booths to teach visitors about different items of each culture, including food, crafts, jewelry, art and other souvenirs. This year featured a variety of food options made by student organizations, food trucks and local food vendors including Le Paris Bakery and Seoul Gimbap. Throughout the festival, four entertainment events took place on a stage in front of Draft and Table: Georgian classical music, a dance performance by the Indian Student Organization, a piano performance of an original folk song of the Yi and a Bachata crash course. Bachata is a partner-focused dance, made up of small and steady hip movements that follow the elements of the music. Visitors were instructed step-by-step and were given more movements to their dance, starting with their hips and eventually completed with arms. The Bachata dance instruction was taught by​ Tammy Huynh of Metta Dance Collective. Huynh said Bachata started as a way for people to let go of their hardships and find community with others. “It was a very marginalized dance before it started getting popularized and I think that a lot of people nowadays dance more of the modern, more of the sensual style of it, and it’s really important to remember the roots and bring it back to where it comes from,” Huynh said. “Fusion is lovely and fusion is a beautiful mixture of cultures, but it’s also amazing to be able to appreciate just the base of something.” The UNM Print Club performed live printmaking at the festival and visitors were able to purchase a freshly printed T-Shirt or other pieces of artwork. Embroideries of Spanglish quotes were sold by an arts and crafts vendor, Isabel Peranta of Sandia Fashion Art, who said she creates embroidery to express her culture. “I focus on hand embroidery to represent the Mexico border, so I focus on embroideries of Spanish quotes, Fridas and details,” Peranta said. “It’s a different way to represent and show my culture.” Lexis Lovato is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @lovatolexis Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox Subscribe