By Ramon Flores
The annual What a Wonderful World talent show played to a packed house at Arizona Western College on March 15. As always, the event, hosted by the Student Government Association (SGA), showcased food, performances, talent and culture from countries around the world.
The two emcees, Trent Hosick and Alexandra Gallegos, made a faultless team, playing back and forth off each other throughout the night.
The first act, Ariana Bowie and Gerardo Molina, sang a duet on "Sinking Deep," composed by Joel Davis and Aiden King, honoring the culture of Christianity. The second act featured Karen Alvarez with her music teacher singing "Night Changes" by One Direction. Zarahi & Nannette followed, performing traditional Mexican music.
Next, Yaiven Ybarra's lively performance of the Evolution of Dance jump-started the audience, after which several SGA students joined him on stage for the "Harlem Shake." The final act before intermission featured Salome Siruno doing his unusual styles of hip hop dance.
During intermission, VP of Programming Ariana Bowie announced that the audience could donate to Rely for Life at the SGA booth, which also sold beverages. The International Team booth also sold egg rolls with milk tea, and Club S.O.T.E. sold baked good provided by John Ryan.
After intermission, Payton Patane performed her energetic mixture of hip-hop and classical ballet to the song "Happy," by Pharrel Williams. Next were the Original Conners, a band that took first place at Z93's 2015 Battle of the Bands. The crowd's response to their song was so strong they had to play an encore.
Trent Hosick, the AWC football team's starting quarterback next sang "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, followed by Team Swing, featuring Scott, Brittany, Sam and Malibu, whose swing dance was grand until Brittany took a tumble. Seth Ortiz represented his Italian culture with an Italian song, and finally act SGA and all the performers sang "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King.
Clarissa Hernandez and Daniel Ramirez need a big thanks for planning this remarkable event. All the acts were marvelous, and the audience was in engaged throughout. What a Wonderful World comes around only once a year, but it left an impact on everyone who attended and performed.
What a Wonderful World, indeed!
