World visits campus

A display of 12 different cultures at International Culture Night

By Maurice O. Ndole
The Collegian

Loud beats of the Japanese Gumyo Taiko drums performed by the Fresno Gumyo Taiko Group sounded as curtains opened to kick off the 22nd International Culture Night at the Satellite Student Union Saturday night.

The event organized by the Association for the Promotion of International Culture and attended by more than 700 people, brought together world cultures represented at Fresno State, providing the audience with authentic displays from various countries around the world.

Associated Students Executive Vice President and International Culture Night coordinator Juan Pablo Moncayo praised the team that worked with him to put the event together. He said he was happy with the quality of all the performances.

“It was a team effort, we started planning this event in April,” Moncayo said. “Now finally it has taken place and it is a great feeling.”

More than 10 students interviewed said they enjoyed themselves.

“It is not everyday that you get the whole world in one room here in Fresno,” a student who identified himself as Jim said. “I came to the event last year and I think it got better this year.”

The audience cheered all through the event. But one of the loudest cheers was heard during the Japanese Student Association performance of the Rock Solan, a synchronized dance involving 16 performers.

The dance evolved about 10 years ago from a fishermen dance, a Japanese cultural dance dating back 500 years, Japanese Student Association President Yukio Kemmotsu said. Japanese fishermen used the dance to cheer on each other while rowing the boat or pulling in the nets after fishing.

The dancers used synchronized hand, leg and body movements to simulate heavy pulling and lifting. They also chanted and responded to their leader’s call of Dokkoisho, a call to urging crew to use their strength to perform a task. The crew responded by chanting Solan in unison, a Japanese word meaning, “load fish in the boat” or in the modern sense, working together, Kemmotsu said.

Sophomore computer engineering major Joanna Samana, an international student from Malaysia, said the event was impressive.

“I liked the Japanese show,” Samana said. “All of them were good but the Japanese dance was great.”

Sophomore mass communication and journalism major Keiko Ichikawa agreed the Japanese dance was one of the best performances in the event. Ichikawa said she was also impressed by the Salsa dance.

“The Salsa dance was pretty impressive and sex. I started thinking about joining the club,” Ichikawa said.

Dancing to a blended tune of African, Cuban and Puerto Rican music, members of Fresno State Salsa Club treated the audience to fast-paced couples Salsa dance.

Ichikawa said the Chinese Lion Dance used unique tricks in their performance.

The Chinese Lion Dance involved four people playing musical instruments, which included drums and cymbals and two people dressed in a lion mascot costume. The dance originated from a colorful Chinese legend about a lion, which chased away a monster that had terrorized villagers for many years. It is performed to celebrate the new-year according to the International Culture Night program brochure.

The Chinese Lion Dance mascot kept the audience at the edge of their seats while performing tricks on a table.

“Please don’t fall,” a member of the audience said when one of the mascot duo lifted his partner high on the narrow table. But the duo performed the trick successfully and came to a perfect landing to the delight of the audience.

Some students said the experience gave them a view of new cultures.

“The African fashion show was unique and diverse,” Samana said. “I never thought they had so many costumes, It made me feel as if I’m in Africa.”

The African fashion show included fashions from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.

The audience was also treated to Flamenco dance, a traditional Spanish dance, which originated from the province of Andalusia in Spain according to the International Culture Night program brochure.

Others who performed included the Fresno State Tap Tones, who performed the American Dancing from Broadway, the Asian and Hmong Student Association and the Tai Chi Dance club.

Los Danzantes de Aztlan, a Mexican folklore dance gave the event a strong ending. The dancers tapped their feet on the ground and electrified the audience.

“That was a perfect finish,” Fresno State senior Sal Gomez said.

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