Caribbean event to celebrate, embrace cultures
Luther Masanto is hard at work planning Caribfest 2011: Cultural Extravaganza. But it’s not all hard work. The senior engineering major is also preparing to compete in the Mr. and Mrs. Caribfest pageant.
‘I’ve been getting in tune with what makes the Caribbean the Caribbean, researching and finding facts about Grenada and other countries,’ said Masanto, a member of the Caribbean Student Association e-board.
Masanto will see if he takes home the crown at Saturday’s Caribfest day show in Goldstein Auditorium, followed by the Caribfest after-party at South Campus’s Skybarn. The day show will also feature a fashion show and a Syracuse University dance troupe performance. It will also offer a special taste of the islands with catered Caribbean food. Soca artist Alison Hinds will put on a special guest performance.
A CSA tradition since its inception in 1985, Caribfest celebrates Caribbean culture. It gives CSA an opportunity to reach out to cultural groups outside of the Caribbean heritage.
‘We named it ‘Cultural Extravaganza’ this year to incorporate different cultures and express that dancehall is global not just for Caribbean’s,’ said Lori-Ann Bramwell, a senior retail management and marketing major and CSA’s day show coordinator. ‘I hope to have the show be enjoyable, run smoothly, have a good turnout and for people just come and enjoy themselves.’
Alisa Alvis, president of CSA, said the group hopes Caribfest will expand students’ knowledge of the Caribbean. CSA will collaborate with groups like La L.U.C.H.A., a Latin undergraduate student association, to raise awareness about Latin American countries that are considered part of the Caribbean.Raices Dance Troupe is one of the groups set to perform.
‘Raices is the only Latino-oriented dance troupe on campus,’ said Ryan Chou, a sophomore in the Falk School of Sport and Human Dynamics. ‘It brings out a really different side of dance. We always try to bring some salsa, merengue or bachata so that people see that it’s not just all about hip-hop.’
The CSA e-board members played a large role in putting together this event, but it wouldn’t be a show without the day show participants who auditioned for the fashion show and pageant earlier this semester. Caribfest would also be incomplete without a lively audience.
Talsia Chronicle, a senior child and family studies major, plans to check out the Caribfest events this Saturday.
‘I want to attend Caribfest because of the cultural feel of the show. It reminds me of a celebration of Caribbean culture, like the Labor Day parade in New York City and carnival,’ Chronicle said. ‘I am really looking forward to Alison Hinds’ performance. I think she will be spectacular.’
The event coordinators hope that Caribfest will provide SU snapshots of distinct cultures.
‘The most important reason to have this event is to raise cultural awareness on this campus,’ Masanto said. ‘We’re trying to make sure that we can do whatever it takes to make sure we expose people, not just to the Caribbean culture, but cultures around the world.’
Published on November 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm
