Spring/Summer 2014
The 23rd Annual International Dinner was held in March. The theme was The World in Rhythm, so the night offered attendees a trip around the world with musical performances and food.
The food was a sweet, savory, and spicy array of traditional dishes from the Middle East, East Asia, Africa, the Pacific Rim, Europe, and the Americas. Student performances were enthusiastically received by all. The TU Kids Senior Choir performed traditional African songs.
The audience enjoyed a Latin American adventure with a love song written by TU student Luiz Carvalho and performed by Carvalho and fellow Brazilian student Victor Fernandes. Students Talita Alves and Fernando Nieto continued the journey with a salsa dance. The Latin trip concluded with a Brazilian ensemble accompanied by a student performing soccer ball juggling tricks.
Everyone was then taken to the Middle East with a poem recitation from Saudi student Fahad Al Farwan and a traditional southern Saudi Arabian group dance performance.
Student performances concluded with the University Choir’s performances of a Hebrew maxim, Central European Romani song, and Native American/Gregorian chants set to Afro-Brazilian rhythms.
“TU is very fortunate to have a large group of international students,” said President Paul Marion. “The more all of us get to know those around the world, the better the world will be.”
The rest of the evening’s entertainment was performed by Son Gitano, a dynamic and eclectic group that creates a Latin fusion musical experience.
The group performed songs from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Caribbean, and several other Latin American nations. During the group’s show, audience members participated in the traditional dances for the songs.
“We’re all dragons celebrating culture tonight,” said the lead singer of Son Gitano and sister of TU student Ivan Santiago, Awilda Santiago.
This year’s event was sold out with a number of TU faculty, staff, students, and Tiffin community members in attendance.