The Creighton community will celebrate the Latin American culture with authentic literature, cuisine and conversation. Back for a second year, Ferias sin Fronterras, meaning a “festival without borders,” was created to help students become more aware and appreciative of different cultures.
“We want people to realize that Hispanic cultures are all unique,” Arts & Sciences senior and event organizer, Merijke Coenraad, said. “There is so much that we can benefit from by learning about these different parts of the world.”
Ferias sin Fronterras will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a play entitled, Los Fantoches, by Carlos Solórzano. It will be performed by students in Creighton’s Twentieth-Century Latin American Theater class in the Harper Hixon-Lied Auditorium.
“The play is about God and his relationship with his creations,” Arts & Sciences senior Savannah Hobbs, said. “It’s an interesting commentary on religion and what it means to be designed by God.”
“There is a big difference between English and Spanish plays,” Arts & Sciences senior Morgan Freilich, said. “It seems like Spanish plays are more culturally based and they all have deeper meanings to them.”
The Department of Modern Languages has also made it a point to extend the invitation to the event to the Latin American community in South Omaha.
“This play allows the people of South Omaha to become acquainted or reacquainted with literature that they may have grown up with,” professor Dr. Ryan Spangler, said.
But for those who fear how their Spanish skills would fare in comparison to native speakers, a translation of the play from Spanish into English will be provided.
“By having the translation, it allows English speakers to open their eyes to what is out there,” Spangler said. “To those that are native, it gives them a chance to know their own culture and literature that they may have not known before.”
The performance will be immediately followed by a celebration of Hispanic cuisine with food provided by Spanish Club students as well as members of Creighton’s Spanish Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi. Visitors will be given a passport to travel to different stations representing different Latin American countries. Those who are educated in each specific region, including students who have studied abroad, will be available to talk about their experiences and introduce foods such as tamales, empanadas, and rice and beans to visitors.
“We are connecting the two parts of the event in order to make it an opportunity for people to see and appreciate the different Hispanic cultures that they may have never learned about,” Coenraad said.