The Sombrilla was packed with colorfully decorated booths as UTSA celebrated its 37th annual Fiesta celebration on April 11. This year’s theme was Culturas de Correcaminos, or Roadrunner Culture.

Each student organization had a booth that represented the diversity of its members. Various unique foods, snacks and drinks were sold throughout the day. These included fried pickles, Hot Cheetos and cheese, dirt pudding, Hawaiian kabobs and mini fajita tacos. Henna tattoos were available via the Indian Cultural Association booth, and the UTSA Campus Activities Board handed out t-shirts.

Frank Gallegos, a freshman business major, remarked that Fiesta UTSA “is a good way to get to know other cultures present at UTSA and experience the diversity on campus.”

This year’s booth decorating contest was stiff, as student organizations showed the diverse array of color and design that is characteristic of Fiesta.

The Best Organization Spirit award was given to the International Interior Design Association. The Best UTSA Spirit award went to the UTSA Ambassadors. Best Athletic Spirit was awarded to the Hispanic Student Association and Greenest Booth Award was given to Roadrunners 4 Life. The winners were awarded a paid booth for either BestFest 2014 or Fiesta 2015.

The event opened at 11 a.m. with a live performance by Barbadian musician Philip 7. As per tradition, President Romo welcomed the Fiesta Royalty at 1:30 p.m. El Rey Feo, LXVI Jimmy Green, led the Royalty out to dance in the Plaza.

The year’s Fiesta Royalty party included El Rey Feo, Miss San Antonio, Mr. UTSA, Ms. UTSA, Mrs. Fiesta, Miss NAACP, Mr. NAACP and Mrs. Queen of Soul.

Ms. UTSA Rebecca Smith commented that Fiesta UTSA “is a lot of fun where students get to show Roadrunner pride and people from the San Antonio community come and see what UTSA is all about and what we have to offer.”

Miss Fiesta San Antonio Sophia Campos was “honored to be here at UTSA” and believed that “everyone is so warm and welcoming.” She also complimented the diverse array of culinary options available at Fiesta UTSA.

With many multicultural campus organizations, Fiesta UTSA was able to incorporate cultural diversity into student products.

Freshman George De Leon from the Business Student Council commented, “It’s a beautiful thing to see people from different parts of the world get to come together and meet. It’s also great to see cultures come together and blend so well. This is a great way to meet new friends, especially for the freshmen.”

“UTSA welcomes the opportunity to show the cultures and lives that make the campus so unique,” said sophomore kinesiology major Mohammad Hamideh. “This annual Fiesta celebration allows students to have fun and feel like a part of a larger community.”

In an online statement, Mageida Sopon, The Fiesta UTSA Director for 2014 thanked the various student organizations and the Campus Activities Board for their exemplary work in arranging the event.

“Campus Activities Board has put in a lot of work and effort from the information meeting to today… I’m very excited to see all this hard work come into its final point and I’m glad to see people enjoying the festival,” said Sopon.