Art and music displays, performances and demonstrations will add a little South American flavor to Ohio State for the next two weeks as the Ecuadorian Cultural Ambassadors Project kicks off today in Bricker Hall.

Victor Mora, associate director of undergraduate admissions, headed the project as a part of the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Office of Hispanic Student Services.

He said he started the project after a trip to his home country, Ecuador. On that visit he saw a display of Bolivar Garcia’s sculptured paintings and a performance by the music group Los Bocheritos. Then he thought about putting together a program which exhibited both the paintings and the music group’s performance.

“They don’t have the formal training, but they have the talent and enthusiasm,” Mora said, referring to Los Bocheritos.

Garcia, the artist whose work will be on display, can’t wait for the OSU community to see his art.

Because Spanish is the only language in which Garcia is fluent, he used Mora as his translator.

“I am very interested in this because it is the first time I have been in an environment like this,” Garcia said. “I want to interact with the public and see how they react to my art.”

Mora said he is also excited about the group which will be playing.

“They played music that developed in Spain, and (they) gave it an Ecuadorian flavor,” Mora said.

The entire university community as well as high school teachers and students are invited to join in the festivities.

“Diversity is one aspect that I love about the Latina culture. We are all bound by a common language, pride and strong familial bonds, but we are a very diverse people,” said Erica Lerma, a junior in early childhood development and education and a team member in the Ecuador project.

“Being Mexican-American, I took this opportunity to immerse myself in another culture that has similar roots to my own, and in doing so, widen my horizons,” she said.

The project cost more than $20,000, which was donated by various organizations including the Office of Minority Affairs, Alpha Psi Lambda and the Office of Hispanic Student Services, Mora said.

Garcia’s work can be seen on the second floor of Bricker Hall until May 2. He will also be showing demonstrations of how he produces his paintings.

Los Bocheritos will have their first performance Friday at the Multicultural Center.

More information and a schedule of events can be found at www.osu.edu/students/quepasa.