The Department of World Languages and Cultures presented the Festival of Languages in the Wilson Hall Auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The festival was celebrated by world language students and professors who showcased their language skills through artistic talents including song, dance, poetry, videos, and presentations.
The festival began with the reading of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda’s poem “Al Partir” read by Keith Lee and Jasmine Garcia, followed by Malia Padalino’s violin performance of “Emma Zunz” by Jorge Luis Borges.
After the University students performed, Shore Regional High School Spanish honor students engaged with the audience in a tutorial of how to create an origami turkey, with all steps in Spanish. This was the second consecutive year the festival opened its doors to the surrounding community.
One of the 18 high school students who performed, sophomore Nicholas Silva, appreciated Monmouth University’s efforts to celebrate the importance of world language and heritage. “It was a great experience to see a diverse field of cultures and languages represented,” said Silva after his class’s performance.
Once the high school students finished their tutorial and fable recitation videos, seven of Professor Hiyam Sarsar’s Arabic 101 students dressed in traditional Arab garb, and performed a dance titled, “Arabic Fantasy.”
Following the dance, Chai Enteridge stole the crowd’s hearts with a beautiful French performance of Je Sais on acoustic guitar. Although nervous to perform in front of an audience consisting of both professors and students who are familiar with the language, Enteridge, a French student, was pleased by the support he received. To Enteridge, the festival, “opened everyone’s perspective” on how the University values world language.
Enteridge’s song was followed by Brittany Macaluso’s French video reading of “Déjeuner Du Matin,” a poem by Jacques Prevert, followed by a PowerPoint presentation on Italian designer by Catie Mazzella.
The Italian language carried out the ending of the festival, which included Frank Lino’s fun trumpet video performance of Dean Martin’s “That’s Amore,” and a “Tarantella” dance by four Italian students.
The 23rd Festival of Languages was a success with a large turnout by world language students, professors, and administrators such as President Grey Dimenna, Provost Laura Moriarty, the Vice Provost for Global Education, John Stauff, and the Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs, Nicolle Parsons-Pollard.
The event was applauded by the festival’s coordinator, Dr. Priscilla Gac-Artigas. “I, along with my colleagues in the Department, felt extremely happy because we all are sure of the benefits that learning another language and about other peoples´ cultures can bring to anyone´s life,” Artigas said after the event.
This year’s Festival of Languages not only served as a celebration of world languages and heritage, but of Elsa Lake Ph.D’s enduring legacy left at Monmouth University, who passed away last June. Artigas noted how Lake was, “a great Cuban educator who was an enthusiastic supporter of the festival since the beginning, always encouraging students to participate.”
The Festival of Languages was dedicated to Dr. Lake thanks to the efforts of all students and faculty.
