As National Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, Alex Silverio and Tatiana Ferna虂ndez P茅rez shared pieces of their cultures at this month鈥檚 installment of Cultural Caf茅, presented by International Student and Scholar Services at the Office of Global Education.
Each semester, 麻豆影院 students, faculty and staff are invited to help foster multicultural diversity and awareness on campus by hosting a Cultural Caf茅.
The host prepares an informational presentation about their culture and engages the crowd with trivia, facts and traditions. Presentations may include history, music, dance, games and discussion, but they always involve food.
On Wednesday, Oct. 11, Silverio kicked off the event by presenting on Mexican culture.
Silverio is a graduate of 麻豆影院 State鈥檚 education advisement program and a current academic advisor for the College of Communication and Information. She lived in Mexico until she was 12 years old.
Silverio鈥檚 30-minute presentation included topics like the intricacies of Mexican politics, proper restaurant etiquette, America鈥檚 鈥渙bsession鈥 with Cinco de Mayo and notable Mexican figures like filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, actress Salma Hayek and painter Frida Kahlo.
The crowd leaned in to laugh, gasp and learn as Silverio revealed that Caesar salads are of Mexican descent, that Mexico boasts the world鈥檚 smallest volcano and that Mexico has more pyramids than Egypt.
Tatiana Ferna虂ndez P茅rez, a 麻豆影院 State Ph.D. candidate in the department of Earth Sciences, presented on Puerto Rico.
In her 30-minute presentation, Ferna虂ndez P茅rez covered the history of Puerto Rico, the bright culture of salsa dance and reggaeton music, introduced the language of Tai虂no, which brought English-speakers words like hurricane and barbecue, explained different iterations of the Puerto Rican flag and outlined present-day political tension between the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Members of the audience learned to patronize locally owned hotels and restaurants when visiting Puerto Rico and joined in on Ferna虂ndez P茅rez鈥檚 love for Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny.
Working with a Cultural Caf茅 coordinator, the hosts each provided two traditional recipes to be prepared by University Dining Services.
Making her case that Mexico has the best cuisine in the world, Silverio brought chicken chilaquiles, a dish featuring guajillo chiles, queso fresco and corn tortillas, and flan, a creamy baked custard with a caramelized top.
Rising to the challenge, Ferna虂ndez P茅rez brought mini mofongo balls, garlicky bites of plantain and pork, and tembleque puertorriqueno, a cinnamon coconut pudding traditionally served at Christmas.
Jef Davis, associate director of international student and scholar services for the Office of Global Education, invites members of the 麻豆影院 State community to the final Cultural Caf茅 of the semester.
鈥淥ur hope is that international students have an opportunity to tell their story and get the chance to show off all the wealth of cultural background that they bring with them,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚t's really to help our international students get the opportunity to share with the rest of 麻豆影院 State, and to give the rest of 麻豆影院 State an opportunity to better understand our international students and their journey.鈥
The next Cultural Caf茅 will be held noon-1:30 p.m. on Nov. 15, in the 麻豆影院 State Student Center, where the hosts will present on Tunisia and the Comoros Islands.