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Taking A World Tour

Tribune photo by JAY CONNER

King High School senior Osbaldo Facio, 17, and junior Guadalupe Arreda, 16, dance next to their Mexico display during the school's multicultural fair.

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By LENORA LAKE

llake@tampatrib.com

Published: December 3, 2008

NORTH TAMPA - World geography got a little scrambled recently with Middle Eastern countries next to South American ones.

But the organizers of the recent Multicultural Fair at King High School wanted the displays of countries that way.

"We wanted it so people will really notice the diversity of the school," said Stefania Fusillo of the school's English Language Learners office, who organized the event along with student clubs and classes.

The Nov. 25 fair had displays with flags from almost 50 countries, ethnic foods, costumes, music and dance. The students and community visitors could see masks of various countries; eat roasted pork, pastas, chickpeas and rice dishes; and have their arms painted in Chinese pen-and-ink tattoos.

Forty-seven languages are spoken at the 2,000-student school, which is the most of any school in the county, said Fusillo, who has been at King for three years. Those languages include Burmese, Vietnamese, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and special dialects of Haitian.

"When I found out the diversity, I thought it the multicultural fair was a wonderful thing to do," said Fusillo, who is from Italy but has lived in Mexico and Canada.

Temple Terrace residents Osbaldo Facio, 17, a senior, and Guadalupe Arrenda, 16, a junior, are from Morelia, Mexico, and presented a ballet folklorico during the event. They wore traditional dress - her of a flowing dress, a tapatia, and charro pants for him.

"It is important to let people know where we come from and to keep our traditions alive," Facio said.

Other performers represented India, Ecuador, Bulgaria, Spain and the Middle East. A fashion show featured many students in traditional dress from countries across the globe. A break-dancing team drew cheers and screams from the students.

Cori McCumber, 16, a sophomore in the International Baccalaureate program, isn't from France, but she sat at the French display giving out croissants with nutella (a chocolate, hazelnut spread) she made.

It took her nearly three hours to bake and cut 200 pieces for the students who swarmed around the display.

"My French teacher said they eat a lot of them in France," said McCumber, a Temple Terrace resident. "I love all the great foods and the cultures that come out in everyone."

Rahil Rojiani, 17, a senior, is president of BOLD, Believe Overcome Lead and Discover, a student club. The multicultural and interfaith group helped organize the event.

The new Tampa resident said the event was designed so the students could have fun, learn about the countries and to help understand one another better.

As for the American contribution to the fair: Culinary arts students baked trays of pumpkin pies, which gave the students a head start on the Thanksgiving weekend.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851.

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