University to host 17th annual Jose Marti Breakfast

Juliane Sunshine/Contributing Writer

It’s the start of the new year and once again, the University will host the “Jose Marti Breakfast,” an event dedicated to a man who fought and died on the battlefields in Cuba. Controversial and poetic, his legacy lives on and will be celebrated on Jan. 28 during the 17th annual event at The Biscayne Bay Campus.

“This is an event we started to celebrate Jose Marti’s birthday, a Cuban patriot,” said Raul Moncarz, one of the creators and organizers of the event. “This event is for Cubans, older people and younger people to remember Marti and what he did in his life.”

At the free breakfast, University students are rewarded with scholarships ranging from $200 to $1000. To receive the scholarship, students must write about Marti at the beginning of the school year.

“I will be attending the breakfast again this year; it’s a lot of fun and a celebration of the Cuban culture,” said alumnus Andres Bermeo, who works in the Marketing Department of Campus Life at BBC. “There will be music, food and usually some theatrical aspect to it. They have had in the past dancers flown in from Cuba.”

Salvador Levy, Cuban author, actor and political prisoner, will also be in attendance.

This year, Student Affairs has been very involved with organizing this event in an effort to promote more student involvement. While the event has grown in popularity, starting with about 10 attendees and growing to 150, the idea is for young people to be informed and carry the torch, Moncarz says.

Since the start of the commemorative events for Marti, the University has received many donations at the BBC including the Jose Marti statue, located in the garden of the Academic Two building and the “Rincon Martiano,” which is the Marti corner at the library. The corner consists of books about Marti, a hand drawn painting of the Cuban hero and a bookcase donated on Jan. 20, 2009.

Photo Credit: Juliane Sunshine

“We are the only University outside of Cuba that has two Rincon Martiano’s, which students should be proud of,” Moncarz. Said.

There is only one other event like this in Miami-Dade, which is a parade sponsored by the Lincoln Marti schools in Hialeah.

“The only place I feel this event belongs in destiny is at BBC [with the students]. I hope one day, we can just create one big event here,” Moncarz said.

The breakfast will start at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28 at BBC inside the Wolfe University Center Ballroom.

For more information, contact Student Affairs or visit the website, http://apostol.fiu.edu.