National Modern Languages Awareness Week ended with its 23rd annual CULTURAMA event on Friday January 30th 2015 at the National Centre for Performing Arts. Students from public and private schools showcased their appreciation for Spanish, French and Chinese language and culture through performances of dance, song, poetry and skit. In attendance were the Honourable Jerome K. Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Mr. Ernesto Soberon Guzman, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, Mr. Robert Jagger, Honorary Consul General for Costa Rica, Mr. David McGrath, Honorary Consul General of Panama, and Mr. Hu Shan, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China.
Minister Fitzgerald spoke to the students about the importance of learning languages for future careers, and how every student should aspire to experience other cultures in order to become a more tolerant, diverse people.
This year’s Culturama was hosted by Mr. Anthony Young, a French teacher at Kingsway Academy, and Ms. Ebony Johnson, alumna of Doris Johnson High School, who now teaches Spanish at D. W. Davis Junior High School. Every school who participated gave animated performances. The enthusiasm and joy was palpable from every student on stage, and even from everyone in the seats. The audience was engaged throughout the entire event, cheering, clapping, dancing and singing along with the performers.
Some of the notable performances include “Vida,” a Spanish dance performed by Thelma Gibson Primary School. The students showed off their Latin moves with typical swaying of hips and elaborate footwork. One boy in red was acting as lead singer of the song, Ricky Martin, by shimmying his shoulders and lip-syncing into a sparkling microphone. At the end of the dance, the boys lined up and blew a kiss, much to the enjoyment of the audience.
Another favorite was “Baile de la Chancleta y la Conga,” a Cuban dance performed by Palmdale Primary School. The song represented the history of African slaves in Cuba and how they used to make music with their wooden sandals. Dressed in traditional Cuban costume, the students tapped a beat with their shoes, accompanied by bongos.
Chicos Felices Spanish Immersion Pre-School participated for the first time in Culturama this year with a rendition of the Spanish song, “Que canten los niños”— a song about how children should raise their voices in song for those who cannot, for those who suffer and for world peace.
French was also represented by several schools with songs, skits, and poems. A student from A. F. Adderley Junior High School recited a poem called “Mon Cartable,” L. W. Young Junior High School girls sang “Oh la la,” a song about a girl who loves to eat junk food and whose mother is always trying to get her to eat properly, while Kingsway Academy and C. I. Gibson Senior High School sang songs of praise.
This year, emphasis was placed on Mandarin by Doris Johnson High School, the leading school in Mandarin studies. A student from Doris Johnson engaged the audience by teaching everyone how to count from 1 to 10 in Mandarin. They put on a skit called “Welcoming a New Student,” where the students acted out a scene in Mandarin about a group of kids meeting a new person who had come to their school.
The Minister reminded the audience that National Modern Languages Awareness Week and Culturama are wonderful ways to showcase other languages, and although the week has come to an end, we should not forget to appreciate other cultures and languages all year round.
