Laughter filled the air Tuesday in the College Theater as Culture Night brought in a diverse crowd.

Culture Night was held as an event for ESL Awareness Week, which runs April 25-May 1.
Merced Flores, dean of High School/Community Relations here at MHCC, started the evening off with words of encouragement for ESL students and others.

“As a child the most important thing my mother said was ‘take care of your language.’ She would tell us to always be proud of who we are.”

The night kicked of with a performance of West African drumming and dancing by Chata Addy. He came to America from Ghana, West Africa, because of the music and lifestyle. Along with the singing and dancing, he told stories of growing up in Ghana and learning how to play different instruments.

“When I play, my soul is talking to me and my brain is having fun,” Addy said.

The CASS International Scholars performed Latin American folk dancing, and Alton Chung, a professional storyteller, told stories from his Japanese and Korean heritage.
Judit Szentirmay, an instructor for ESL and ENL at MHCC, performed along with the Hungarian dance ensemble, Aratas, that she is part of. There was also a brief teaching session by some of the dancers.

Szentirmay said that Culture Night was great because “we are all part of the college and all part of the community. This is a time when we show the people richness of culture.”