International students from 120 countries participated in the World Fest inauguration ceremony on Tuesday.

The event, organized by International Services, gave the BYU community an opportunity to learn from other cultures as they visited booths displaying the cultures of countries all over the world. Among the people in the crowd were about 60 elementary school children from various Utah County schools. The children visited each booth and learned about the culture of each country.

Following the entrance of the colorful Chinese dragon, Vice President of International Affairs at BYU, Erlend Peterson welcomed everybody to the event.

"We are pleased to have so many international students at BYU help us celebrate our international week," Peterson said.

The ceremony included performances from Living Legends, a BYU folk dance group who travels all over the world displaying dances and traditional outfits.

Miguel Garcia, a senior from Chihuahua, Mexico, majoring in business management, and Nadia Gonzalez, a junior from Tucson, Ariz. sang "Mexico Lindo y Querido." The crowd was electrified as the Mexican folk group danced to a Mexican favorite, "La negra de Jalisco."

Other performances by Living Legends included dances from Paraguay and Hawaii. The crowd applauded the colorful traditional outfits and dances.

The Director of International Services, Dr. Enoc Flores, said World Fest gives international students an opportunity to display their culture, traditional outfits and artifacts.

Flores recognized the presence of elementary school children at World Fest.

"Every year we welcome about 2,000 elementary school children to our International Week celebration," he said.

People who attended the event had the opportunity to talk to international students, who organized the booths, and learn about their culture.

"We just wanted to show people what we do in Ghana," said Daniela Ampaw, a freshman from Ghana, majoring in accounting. "We want people to get to know Africa."

Martha Rodriguez, a senior from El Salvador, majoring in international relations, has participated in World Fest for three years. Her booth was among the most colorful and festive. She greeted elementary school children and showed them how to play with El Salvadorian toys she had on display. She also had business cards from local restaurants so people can have a taste of the delicious foods from El Salvador.

"I am very proud of my country, my people and my culture," Rodriguez said. "This is a great opportunity to display my country to everyone."

A large group of students participates every year.

"We have over 2,400 students from 120 countries," Flores said. "We are pleased to have so many students with different cultures at BYU."



Copyright Brigham Young University 18 Nov 2008