Singers representing 18 countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia competed in “Eurovision Song Contest at DePauw,” a local version of one of the oldest international singing competitions.
Hosted by the Department of Modern Languages and sponsored by Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity, the contest was dedicated to Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance (IUYA). On Saturday night in Thompson Hall, the event raised more than $300 for IUYA with the entrance fee of $2 from 150 attendees.
The original “Eurovision” began in 1956 aiming to unite war-torn Europe. By 2017, 52 countries in Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Caucasus and Oceania have participated in the annual event televised around the world.
“Songs united people from the countries that tried to kill each other ten years ago,” said Edu Montes Romero, a Spanish Language Department Assistant (LDA) from Spain, the organizer of Saturday’s event. Back in Spain, Montes often watched the broadcasted contest and even won an award at a local edition of Eurovision held at the University of Salamanca during his undergrad days studying language interpretation.
At DePauw, Montes and other LDAs from the Modern Languages department wanted to revive the DePauw-version of the contest which has been sponsored by the department for the past several years. “We wanted to do something bigger,” Montes said. “We wanted to unite people from everywhere.”
While organizing the event, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) specifically caught Montes’ attention, as he said, “I had never heard of DACA before coming to the States.” Montes was impressed by the response of DePauw students and staff who rallied against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“We saw all the turmoil… but so much support from the community here at the same time,” Montes said. With assistance from FIJI, the event was finally set to raise funds for IUYA, a youth-led nonprofit organization for undocumented Indiana residents seeking higher education.
The contest opened with a German rap, a Spanish dancing pop and a Chinese ballad. It was followed by songs from Colombia, Ireland, Philippines, Chile, Croatia, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States, Australia, France, Italy, Brazil, Nepal, Mexico, Japan and Romania through the intermission, with a guest performance by Company Unspoken.
Some contestants represented countries related to their identities. Solo or duet vocal performances were the popular styles among those accompanied by background dancers (Spain and Japan), the Mariachi Ensemble (Mexico) and a piano singer (Romania).
After three hours of performances, the audience voted through an app for the winner. The top three winners were Romania, followed by UK and France.
The organizer Montes also performed “Lo Mal Que Estoy” by the singer-songwriter El Kanka. The performance won Montes first place. “It was actually the first time I performed the piano in front of an audience,” Montes said.
Junior French major Alexandra Gandy got second place with her solo of Édith Piaf’s chanson, “La Vie en Rose.”
“I sang in a language I really love for a good cause, and that was important to me tonight,” Gandy said. Gandy has been studying the language since eighth grade.
“It was a great experience,” said Junior Charles Precht, who represented the UK. His performance earned him third place for his vocal and rap performances of “I’m Not the Only One” by English singer-songwriter Sam Smith. “As the vice president of FIJI, it was great to be able to help raise money for the great cause and participate in the support for the community and amazing enthusiasm of all contestants and supporters,” Precht said.
The DePauw Mariachi Ensemble performed the Mexican billboard-winner song “Adiós Amor” earned fourth place, followed by juniors Saki Nagai and Akari Senga from Japan performing "Ma vie, Mes rêves (Jinsei wa Yume Darake)” earning fifth place.
Looking back on the event, Montes was satisfied by the turnout and the team’s ability to overcome setbacks. “Everything went so smoothly that we would do this every month,” Montes said.
