Colombia culture celebrated at Ou's colombian student association's Colombia night

Ou’s Colombian student association organized its first ever fashion show to highlight the country’s forward-looking culture at Colombia night on saturday.

The show featured Colombian dress with many bright and eye-catching reds, blues and yellows and was directed by Carolina Gonzalez, Colombian Student Association secretary. 

The models showcased the collections of Yoana Walschap, the association’s advisor, Scott Vnan Eck, a well-known body painter, and Nicole Moan, who makes wearable art corsets made out of ceramics. Several of the models also donned either red, blue or purple paint that spanned much of their body.

“My favorite thing about Colombian culture is that it is forward-looking,” said Erika Ramelli, master of ceremonies for the event. She sees this evident in the fashion of the country, as many popular brands of clothing are produced in Colombia.

Colombia ight began with a dinner of traditional Latin American food, including arroz con pollo, a chicken and rice dish.

After the dinner, Colombian Night guests made their way to Catlett Hall for the night's entertainment.

Members of the association showcased the modern cumbia, a “seductive coastal dance” that heavily features drum music, Ramelli said. 

The dance featured four male and four female association members in traditional Colombian dress, ending with a long kiss shared between partners.

The Colombian student association and Ou’s Colombian alumni association announced their scholarship winners. 

The alumni association has helped many student association members in the past, giving a total of $70,000 to students so far, with an average of $1,000 going to each student, said Juan Carlos Maldonado, at the event.

Juan Sebastian Galindo, president of the student association and petroleum engineering senior, also announced the starting of an endowment fund for both the Colombian student association and the colombian alumni association. Galindo said he will match any donation up to $10,000 for the next two years.

Ou's colombian student association organized the night, for which about 600 tickets were sold, Walschap said.

Cole Campbell and Jose Polanco, sophomores from Oklahoma State University and Spanish and sports media majors respectively, made the trip from stillwater to attend colombian night.

“I'm Argentinian, and Cole is working on speaking Spanish, so we thought it sounded like a good time,” Polanco said.

Both Campbell and Polanco are part of the Latin American Student Association at OSU.

Stephen Lindstrom, Ou Spanish sophomore, had similar reasons for attending.

Lindstrom said he decided to go the event because his Spanish professor is Colombian, and he is interested in the country’s culture and food.