By Arthur Medrano |Staff Writer|
The International Market Night is one of the premier events held each year at CSUSB, which draws crowds with music, diverse cuisines, entertainment and artwork from various ethnic cultures.
Market-goers had the entire day to sample dishes from several different countries as they walked around the library lawn.
Across the field, flags were showcasing the diverse cultures in attendance while the DJ played music spanning from Spanish pop to Bollywood.
As an annual event, the crowds seem to grow in size with students, faculty and the public being able to attend this free event.
“[This] event that promotes diversity, cultural awareness and just a way to celebrate the ethnic demographics here in San Bernardino,“ said Daniel Perez, Center for Global Management Chief Programming Officer.
Getting to study the importance of cultures helps open your mind to new ideas and learn to value our society beyond the boundaries we have set up.
The event holds a special place for Perez because his heritage comes from a biracial background of Filipino and Mexican.
“A lot of these booths that come here are family run. They are sharing their food with us, and they are sharing their culture with us,” said Perez.
Market nights such as these provide great environments for students to come with their family or learn about their friend’s heritage, as well as their own.
With a raffle winner every 30 minutes and a bouncy house for children to enjoy, it’s hard to not participate in the various events being held.
Artists such as Tory Church and Aldrin Mablambayan collaborated their artistic styles to create an art piece that features a rendition of the late Bob Marley in portrait form and the other half depicting a lion to illustrate the connection of two diverse cultures.
The event also provided facts about activities that were held, giving history on sumo wrestling while getting to wrestle with friends and going through a castle maze jumper while learning the history of German castles.
Everywhere you would go during the event, there was always an opportunity to learn.
“When we try to belong to a culture, we strive to find a sense of identity to belong,” said event attendee Julian Cedillo. “Here at the market night, it gives us an open door to the multitude of languages and food that can be discovered.”
It features vendors selling merchandise, food, artwork and giveaways to help converge the diversity of cultures found here among campus.
“Helping bridge the gap among our community helps change our attitudes about other countries and learn that in diversity, we can integrate their values and creativity within our daily lives,” continued Cedillo.
Overall, the event proved to be a success with the vendors and the attendees walking away with greater cultural knowledge than with what they entered in with.
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