About Us
Spanish Festival 2007
Each year, the Spanish honor society Sigma Delta Mu and club advisor Mrs. Martha Bieber work in conjunction with the UA Fort Smith Department of World Languages to bring to campus the flavors of the Hispanic world. New to the festival in 2007 were Latin song and dance competitions. Taking top place in the dance competition was Dover High School’s tango dancers, Spencer Colling and Jacqueline Jurcik. First-place in the song competition went to UA Fort Smith student Brandon Suttles of Fort Smith, whose performance pieces included the well-known Spanish classic Bésame mucho.
Led by Dr. Rosario Nolasco-Bell, festival participants shook off their dancing inhibitions and learned how to salsa. Papa Rap and the Pequeño Barrio Band provided the Latin rhythms that had the audience bailando; and before the festivities were over, Dr. Henry Rinne of Van Buren, professor and Chair of Arts and Humanities, was playing a toe-tapping rendition of Guantamera with his fellow musicians. Festival participants also enjoyed typical Hispanic dishes, such as the delicious Salvadoranean pupusas and Mexican enchiladas. Sigma Delta Mu volunteers sold lip-smacking piña coladas, which festival-goers sipped as they sampled the tres leches cakes provided by UA Fort Smith student Elizabeth González. Spanish games were the other great draw. Sigma Delta Mu and UA Fort Smith Spanish student volunteers manned La Rueda de la Fortuna, Boliche, and Lotería, along with Twister en español. Game winners walked away with a veritable plethora of prizes, many of which were donated by our own generous area businesses. The festival closed with the annual door-prize give-away, including a dinner for four at Rolando's Restaurant in Fort Smith and a membership to St. Edward Mercy Fitness Center.
A special thankyou to the following individuals, oragnizations, and departments, whose participation and donations helped make the 2007 Spanish Festival un gran éxito: El Zarape Restaurant, Panera Bread, St. Edward Mercy Fitness Center, Dillard’s, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Las Americas Restaurant, the UA Fort Smith Campus Store, Rolando’s Restaurant, Sweet Bay Coffee Co., Supermercado la Guadalupana, La Hacienda Market, Bancorp South, the UA Fort Smith Maintenance and Facilities Department, the UA Fort Smith Audiovisual Department, the UA Fort Smith Spanish Faculty, Mokihana Presley, Richard Barham, and Rachael Jordan.
Email Sigma Delta Mu Advisor Martha Bieber for more information. The 2008 Spanish Festival will be held on Friday, April 4th, 2008 on the UA Fort Smith Campus Green, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Make plans to attend!
New for the 2008 Festival will be the Spanish Poem Recitation Competition. Students participating will recite from memory a Spanish poem, at least 8 lines in length, before a panel of judges. Students will be judged based on pronunciation as well as aesthetics.Back to the Department of World Languages page.
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