People were dancing in the aisles in Meacham Auditorium Saturday, as Colombians and Americans from all over the state celebrated the fifth annual Colombian Night.

The night was capped off with a four-song show by the Tierradentro band, named after a region in Colombia, which had attendees on their feet and moving in Oklahoma Memorial Union. The program also included Colombian songs and dances, a trivia game and videos about four Americans' experiences in Colombia. The Colombian Student Association hosted the evening's events.

David Ramirez, president of the Colombian Student Association, said the intent this year was to focus on the positive things about Colombia and disprove the negative stereotypes.

"We really think people should discover what the true Colombia is," Ramirez said.

He said it that when Colombians get together, a special environment is created.

Colombian Night

o Event included dances like Guabina, Bambuco, Pasillo and Cumbia

o Five hundred people signed up to attend the event

Source: Staff reports

"We have enough members, we have enough passion for our country [to have Colombia Night]," he said.

The night opened with the national anthem of both Colombia and the United States and continued with the video "Colombia Viva" which highlighted major Colombian cities. People cheered as their respective cities appeared on the screen.

Other performances included "Tabaco Y Chanel" by the Diaz family and two classic guitar songs by Juan David Barajas and Sean McMurray. Four short video clips were shown of American students who decided to spend part of their Christmas break traveling through Colombia. They noted the hospitality and openness of the Colombian people. Yoana Walschap, adviser of the Colombian Student Association, said Colombia is very rich in diversity.

"We try to showcase our country," Walschap said.

She said this year they told the story of Colombian coffee through dances. Performers, dressed in traditional Colombian clothing, danced the Guabina, the Bambuco, the Pasillo and the Cumbia. A student dressed as Juan Valdez, the symbol of Colombian coffee, helped people learn about the process of making Colombian coffee.

Prizes were handed out to people in the audience for answering trivia questions about the country.

Ramirez said 500 people were signed up to attend the event.

"We always sell all the tickets," Ramirez said.

Eirasmin Lokpez-Cobo, Venezuelan native and journalism and mass communications graduate student, said she heard about Colombian Night through friends.

"I have lots of friends from Colombia," Lokpez-Cobo said. "It was a really great program."

Lokpez-Cobo, who has attended other cultural events such as PANAM Night and Chinese Night, said the cultural aspect was her favorite part of Colombian Night.

"I think it's great that they have so many people here," Lokpez-Cobo said.

After the program, people were invited to Kongos for a typical Colombian dish called Bandeja Paisa and to party with the salsa band Orquesta Ron y Ritmo.

Walschap said she felt this year was the best because the students put a lot of passion into the event.

For more pictures of this event, click here.
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