The External Relations department at American University of Technology (AUT), in collaboration with the Mexican Embassy in Lebanon, organized a day that showed Mexican culture in the presence of the Mexican Ambassador Francisco Romero Bock, accompanied by muralist Paola Delfin, cultural attaché Jaqueline Maldonado and embassy staff. Jbeil and Fidar Mayors, Dr Joseph Chami and Walid Mahfouz respectively attended the Day together with Halat municipality council member Toufic Rahi, the president of Byblos International Festival Rafael Sfeir and representatives from the Serbian and Russian embassies.
The event opened with the Lebanese national anthem followed by the Mexican national anthem. The Vice President for External Relations Mr. Marcel Hinain gave a word of welcome emphasizing the importance of cultural exchange and the widening of students’ cultural horizons and told the audience how the idea was formed and how responsive the Mexican ambassador was to the idea of having a Mexico day at AUT..
The Mexican Ambassador in turn delivered a speech expressing his pleasure in participating in the event. He highlighted the richness, diversity, and historical depth of Mexican culture, and thanked the University for its interest in disseminating Mexican culture through that Day.
A short documentary was shown to the audience and featured a cultural presentation highlighting key aspects of Mexican culture, including traditions, music, and cuisine. A second video, prepared by the University’s audio-visual students, showcased prominent Mexican figures who gained international recognition. Among them were President Benito Juárez, known for his role in establishing democratic principles and national reforms; artist Diego Rivera, one of Mexico’s most renowned painters whose murals reflected the country’s history and culture; actress Dolores del Río, considered one of the first Mexican stars to achieve global fame; internationally acclaimed actor Anthony Quinn; and Formula 1 driver Sergio Pérez, one of Mexico’s leading motorsport athletes, not to forget Mexican actress Salma Hayek and business tycoon Carlos Slim both of Lebanese origin.
The delegation then toured the university campus, to visit the exhibits prepared by Graphic and Interior Design students that included sombreros, vases, wall faces, drawings, lighting cubes and architectural designs of cultural buildings all inspired by Mexican art.. The works were assessed by a jury composed by the Ambassador, muralist Paola Delfin, cultural attaché Maldonado and the Dean of Arts and Humanities at AUT Dr Christiane Sfeir who supervised all the works produced by students under the guidance of chairpersons Maroun Abboud, Anthony Mazraani and drawing instructor Maroun Azoury.
Professional artists led by Sarah Sergienko exhibited over 30 paintings inspired by Mexican nature and culture while Beirut Wine Tour offered wine to all visitors
At the end of the Day, winners were announced for each category.
The “Mexican Day” concluded around a lunch featuring Mexican cuisine prepared by students of Hospitality Management led by Chef Joe Khoury,
It is worth mentioning that VP Hinain had invited Paola Delfin for a workshop to students of Design two months earlier so students can discover the mural art form.
