With scents of Filipino pork barbecue and sounds of Indian Bollywood music in the air, attendees gathered to partake in a vibrant cultural exchange for Texas Tech’s annual International Culture Fest

Gathering to taste traditional cultural dishes, perform in distinct dance styles and share stories of global backgrounds, Tech students and Lubbock residents gathered at the International Cultural Center Saturday for the celebration of the local international community.

Pranvi Matam, a first-year student from Dallas, participated in a choreographed dance to Bollywood music in front of a crowd. She said it was a special opportunity to prepare and perform a showcase of Hindi music culture.

Bollywood dancer performs

A Bollywood Fusion dancer performs for the attendees during the International Culture Fest hosted by Texas Tech’s International Affairs at the International Cultural Center Oct. 18, 2025.

Cali Coiner

“It’s really amazing to get to share our culture and represent ourselves, especially with dance, which is something we practice for and work very hard on,” Matam said.

She said she believes there’s always more to learn about the intricacies of the international community and encourages people to continue exposing themselves to foreign cultures because they never know what they might find.

“To me, cultural exchange means accepting everyone and embracing every culture,” Matam said. “There’s always new things to learn about new cultures (like) with their foods. You can learn new values, morals, really anything.”

Culture Fest represents a vast number of countries worldwide, including Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, India, Mexico and more. Vendors offer a unique blend of foreign foods, gift bags, drinks, arts and crafts for attendees to purchase.

Raphael Fumagalli, a third-year business major from Sao Paolo, Brazil, sat at a table eating Brazilian cheese bread and drinking Guaraná, a soft drink unique to his home country, as other students gathered to partake in the treats themselves.

He said he wanted to bring a part of his home to Lubbock for others to enjoy and to help fellow Brazilians feel more comfortable in their new Texan home.

“It’s always nice to have your country being represented when you’re in a different place,” Fumagalli said. “We get to make students from those places feel like they’re home, as well as introduce others to our culture.”

Baklava is served to customer

A vendor grabs baklava from a tray for a customer during the International Culture Fest hosted by Texas Tech’s International Affairs at the International Cultural Center Oct. 18, 2025. This is a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern pastry.

Cali Coiner

Thirunya Fernando, a first-year graduate student studying accounting from Negombo, Sri Lanka, served a line of customers some of her country’s traditional dishes, including milk rice and kokis. She said she felt pride in getting to represent and serve her people’s cuisine.

“We love getting to represent our country. Sri Lanka is a very traditional and cultural country, and it’s really valuable to us that we get to show that,” Fernando said. “We really feel like we are being valued here. I love that we get to show our culture to people who care here.”

Fernando said she believes Culture Fest is an opportunity to learn more about other cultures and traditions, and said she is proud to bring her culture to be a part of the gathering.

“Just getting to talk to people of different cultures, try their foods, see their clothes, see their traditions — you can learn so much from an event like this,” she said. “It’s great to be a part of it.”