[Marina Rojas/Special to The Press-Enterprise Christopher Quast, Jose Rodriguez and David Quintero of Son Merekumbe provide the beat for Indigenous People's Day at San Bernardino Valley College recently.]
By MARINA ROJAS
Students at San Bernardino Valley College recently celebrated Indigenous People's Day with exhibitions of dance and music from different cultures around the world.
The event, sponsored by the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) Club, is held every year on the Wednesday nearest to Columbus Day as a way to celebrate the world's ancestral cultures.
Presented at the Greek Theatre on campus, Mexican forklorico dancers twirled on stage in their brightly colored native costumes as women in attire from South America gathered to talk around the tables that were laden with offerings of foods. One group, Son Merekumbé, presented African influenced Columbian from the region of Cartagena on the Caribbean.
Henry Vasquez, who has made an appearance in the festival for the past 12 years, performed several songs on different pipes and flute-like instruments.
Paula Juarez, 20, of San Bernardino, encouraged people to come out every Monday during the month of October to attend a film festival at SBVC from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. to take in showcased documentaries of indigenous people around the world.
Edward Gomez, associate professor of history and faculty adviser of the MEChA Club, explained that the main purpose of this yearly event is to bring together groups representing the many cultures throughout the world to help people learn about one another's traditions.
"This was an answer to Columbus Day; we learned about that culture, so we wanted to make sure all cultures were included for a time of celebration too," he said.
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