July 3, 2008Seven UTEP students are learning about Bhutanese culture during this year’s 42nd annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.
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| Photos courtesy of Cotton Productions |
| The Bhutanese Buddhist Ihakhang, above, is on display at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. After the festival, the building will make its home on the UTEP campus. |
The festival, which runs through July, celebrates the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, the State of Texas and NASA. The students are at the festival promoting UTEP’s connection to both Bhutan and NASA.
“It’s a different world: a Bhutanese world. As an art major, it’s tremendous to see the beauty of everything,” Xochitl Rodriguez said. “The beauty of them as people is incredible, all their architecture, the different textiles it’s all incredible.”
Educating the World about UTEP
Rodriguez is joined by Erika Anchondo, organizational corporate communications major, Natalie Aguilar, criminal justice major, and Yvonne Carranza, recruitment and advising coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts.
The four have spent their days on the National Mall educating passersby about the Bhutanese architecture on the UTEP campus and NASA astronaut and UTEP graduate Danny Olivas.
“The girls are doing an incredible job of being ambassadors for UTEP,” Carranza said. “They have been a tremendous UTEP force at the Folklife Festival.”
Despite the language barrier, Rodriguez and Erika Anchondo befriended a dancer named Thinley, who gave Rodriguez a pair of authentic Bhutanese boots.
Anchondo said she’s learned a valuable lesson from her new friends.
“They appreciate every moment and it just made us realize that we need to embrace every minute that we’re here because it is such a wonderful opportunity,” she recounted.
Thinley will be one of the 16 dancers from the Bhutanese Royal Academy of Performing Arts performing during Bhutan Festival 2008 at UTEP at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 8, at the Don Haskins Center. The folk-and-dance performance is free and open to the public.
Documenting Bhutan’s Architecture
Four other UTEP students have been on-site at the National Mall since early June filming a documentary about the festival and the construction of a 30-foot-tall Bhutanese building.
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Other Bhutanese Events at UTEP
Photo exhibit
UTEP Travelers in Bhutan
July 1 through July 31
Centennial Museum, Tom Lea Gallery
10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through
Saturday
Art exhibit
In the Weave: Bhutanese Textiles and
National Identity
April 10 through August 2
Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual
Arts at UTEP
Hours of operation: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday
through Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday;
noon to 5 p.m. Saturday
Click here to learn more about
Bhutan Festival 2008... |
The Bhutanese structure is formally called the Bhutanese Buddhist
Ihakhang. The building is a gift of friendship for the people of the United States. After the festival, the building will make its home on the UTEP campus.
Electronic media majors Rudy Romo, Javier Corro and Marco Zapata and advertising major Alfonso Duarte will show a 10-minute short of their documentary on during Bhutan Festival 2008 at UTEP.
Romo, the documentary director, said a one-hour version of the film will include the re-construction of the building at UTEP.
Even though the aspiring filmmakers are spending most of their time shooting and editing film, Romo said they’ve also made friends with the Bhutanese builders, teaching them about American traditions such as football and the meaning of “thumbs up.”
Click here to view the photo gallery...
- Laura L. Acosta