The Luis A. Calvo Auditorium plaza and its internal stage were the venues chosen for the presentations of the six groups affiliated with the Cultural Directorate of the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) last Saturday afternoon and evening.
“The living arts beat at UIS” was the slogan used to showcase the repertoires of the Grupo de Expresión Musical-Emuis, the Teatro UIS group, Macondo, Música y Danzas Folclóricas, the Choir, and the UIS Tuna.
“I was watching the play; it was excellent. Great students, a good turnout, and the theater was packed. That’s a sign that no one else can match the quality UIS has. The message is to continue sponsoring and supporting students, in this way and to this extent, so that more and more people are encouraged to participate in theater and the activities UIS offers, including the physical and cultural aspects and everything within the UIS complex,” said Manuel Fernández, an attendee.
Traditional Colombian and international songs, sung, danced, and performed, were the stars of this marathon, which featured a large turnout of families, youth, and adults. The play “Estudio en Blanco y Negro” (Study in Black and White) by Virgilio Piñera, one of the great playwrights of the “literature of the absurd” was featured.
Ricardo Enrique Urintive Carrillo, regarding the administration’s proposal to begin the celebration of the University’s 77th anniversary with a cultural agenda, said: “I think it’s excellent because the University, beyond being an institution that offers programs for people to study and so on, I think it’s important that it encourages the cultural development of the region and that we identify with these cultural groups that ultimately represent our identity as Colombians.”
And regarding the presentation, he added: “I thought it was excellent. It’s a very organized group, and you can tell the kids really enjoy it. It’s also important for students to have fun with something other than academics.”
Each presentation was given 30 minutes for the audience to move between stages. The audience accepted the invitation at each stage change and stayed until the end of the event. They were also invited to take a souvenir photo with the elements of the different cultural groups, displayed in the Rafael Prada Ardila room.
Laura Vanesa López, a ninth-semester law student and member of the Folkloric Music and Dance group, said about this celebration: “I find it incredible that this initiative begins with cultural groups with whom we can enjoy, dance, have a good laugh, and enjoy good music and have a good time with family. It’s very admirable that we have been a public university for so many years, that the voices of students, professors, and cultural groups continue to be raised, and that we have the trajectory we have here at the university”.
