The afternoon event, which took place across East Fordham Road from the Rose Hill campus, was sponsored by the student organization Fordham Club at Rose Hill, the Bronx Night Market, and Fordham Road Business Improvement District.

It featured three food trucks, face painting, temporary tattoo and bubble-making booths, and tables from groups such as the health care provider Metro Plus and the New York Public Library, which distributed Spider-Man theme library cards.

Performances featured Fordham a cappella groups the Ramblers and Hot Notes, the Fordam hip-hop troupe Fordham Flava, and performers Andrew Harris and Dr. Drum and BombaYo.

Sophia Maier, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill majoring in history and American Studies and minoring in Spanish, and two other FCRH students, Natalie Huntoon, and Jack Moses, spent four months organizing the event.

“In the four years I’ve been here, I’ve gone out of my way to get involved in the Bronx, which is truly the place we live,” Maier said.

“I absolutely love being here.”

One of the Fordham Club’s goals is to get the University and Fordham students to get more involved in the Bronx community, she said

“The Bronx is part of Fordham, and we have all of this amazing talent off campus,” she said. At the same time, there are student groups that Bronx residents may not naturally get the chance to engage with.

““The Bronx Celebration Day brings that all together,” she said.

Folklorist and choreographer Martha Nora Zarate-Alvarez, who heads the Bronx-based ensemble, said the group’s lively performance represented the traditions of the Huasteco and Jalisco regions of Mexico.

“We wanted to showcase the importance of Mexican culture in the Bronx and traditional Mexican dance,” said Zarate-Alvarez, who was dressed in a multicolored tiered skirt. “Mexican culture is more than just mariachi music.”

Bronx Celebration Day was presented by the Bronx Collaboration Committee, a division of the Fordham Club, and co-sponsored by Bronx Community Board 6, Fordham University Commuting Students Association, Fordham Road BID, and the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer at Fordham University.

Fordham College at Rose Hill senior Michael Ortiz, a member of the Fordham Club, said the mission of the Bronx Collaboration Committee is to integrate the Bronx with the Fordham campus.Though last year’s inaugural Bronx Celebration Day was held in McGinley Center, organizers took this year’s festivities outdoors.

“Having this year’s event at the [entrance]of the campus where it’s visible and audible beyond the gates was important connection that we wanted to make,” he said.

In addition to supporting local vendors selling t-shirts, handmade jewelry, art, books, and other items, Bronx Celebration Day featured several local music and dance groups, such as Dominican performers Yasser Tejeda & Palotrév; Afro Puerto Rican ensemble Bàmbula; Italian percussionist-dancer-singer Alessandra Belloni; Honduran cultural music group Bodoma Garifuna Cultural Band; and Latin, funk, and hip-hop group Boom Bits.

“The local groups demonstrate the creativity and beauty of the Bronx,” said Rafael Zapata, Fordham’s first chief diversity officer. “The event is really a great way for students who aren’t familiar with the community to learn about the roots of the borough, and also to be affirmed and inspired by the music, dance, art, and culture.”

Wakefield resident Hoay Smith was selling graphic baseball caps and hard copies of Bronx Narratives, a magazine he helped to launch with Dondre Green, the magazine’s founder and creative director. He said events like Bronx Celebration Day invites those who aren’t familiar with the borough to see the community through a fresh lens.

“Our underlying goal is to reinvent the story of the borough and this event helps us to spread brand awareness,” he said.

Nearby, local artist Evelyn Ray of Parkchester was selling vibrant collages and paintings. The work highlighted her Puerto Rican and Bronx pride.

“This is my life, my passion,” she said pointing to a painting bearing the Puerto Rican flag. “I think of this event as my little pop-up shop.”

South Korean artist Sohhee Oh brought along her mobile communal art project called “The Golden Door.” The three-dimensional cardboard door had the American flag painted on the side panels.  During the event, she asked Fordham students and local residents to write down where they were from on Post-it notes, which were then placed on the golden door.

“The project is for the immigrants of the Bronx, but I also wanted people at the event, who are not immigrants, to know that the project widens the meaning of what an immigrant is.”

Looking out at the diverse group of attendees who gathered in the lot, Fordham College at Rose Hill senior Abigail Kedik said Bronx Celebration Day has helped to deepen Fordham students’ relationship to different ethnic groups that continue to make their mark on the borough.

“We’re guests in the Bronx and we should be open to collaborating,” said Kedik. “This is a great experience that helps students learn more about the community that we are a part of.”

From Yankee Stadium to the New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx is known for a myriad of attractions.

But on April 1 at the University’s first annual Bronx Celebration Day, Fordham students came together to celebrate the Bronx’s rich history and the local businesses and organizations that are contributing to its diverse and vivacious community.

“So many people still think the Bronx is stuck in 1977, and they don’t realize that it’s an incredibly resilient community,” said Fordham College at Rose Hill senior Ariana Cipriani, who co-organized the event. “The reason the Bronx is booming today is because people have stuck around. They put their time, money, and love into making their communities better, safer, and more vibrant.”

Vendors included:

• Edible Bronx, a free print magazine that showcases food, drink, and urban agriculture in the Bronx;

• Mainland Media, a top seller of Bronx apparel, accessories, postcards, stickers, posters and Bronx memorabilia;

• Seraphim Whims, a boho-inspired clothing and accessories business created by a local belly dancer;

• Kingdom Royale, a cosmetic line of natural soaps, scrubs, lotions, and hair and treatments; and

• Bronx Native, a Bronx-based clothing line inspired by Bronx street art and culture.

The event also featured performances from Fordham’s A cappella singing groups B-Sides, Satin Dolls, and the Ramblers, and dance routines from Expressions Dance and the Jetés. The DJ collective Uptown Vinyl Supreme of the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx also got the crowd moving with old-school hip-hop and dance mixes.

In addition to reveling in all the things that make the Bronx one of the most exciting places in the city, the event was an opportunity to strengthen Fordham’s relationship with neighboring communities, said organizers.

“It was time for a bigger event on campus that allowed the members in our surrounding communities to interact with Fordham students in a more meaningful way,” said Fordham College at Rose Hill senior and co-organizer Paola Joaquin Rosso, who hails from the South Bronx. “We decided there should be a day that celebrates the Bronx because that’s what connects [Fordham students and local residents].”

The Bronx Hot Sauce, made with serrano peppers from Bronx community gardens, was one of many Bronx-centric items sold by vendors Paul Ramirez and Anthony Ramirez II of Mainland Media. The Ramirez brothers hoped Bronx Celebration Day would inspire Fordham students to see the community through fresh eyes, they said.

“Although Fordham students may be coming to the Bronx to just go to school, it’s important for them to realize their responsibility to the surrounding communities because it furthers their development,” said Paul Ramirez. “You have to respect the space you’re living in, even though it may be foreign to you.”

Angel Hernandez, director of programs and external relations at the Bronx Historical Society, had a similar take in his presentation about important events in Bronx history that have shaped the borough and its residents.

“The Bronx is a very historical place and Fordham University is also a historical place,” he said. “I think students should be a part of change in the Bronx. There is just so much education to extract from the Bronx that should be translated in the classroom.”

Still, Hernandez’s Bronx history lesson wasn’t short of fun. Before he began his talk, he beatboxed to a rap by Mark Naison, Ph.D., professor of African and African-American studies, in the spirit of hip-hop, which was born in the Bronx.

“Thirty years ago, people were coming to see the decay, and now they’re coming to see how it’s been rebuilt,” Naison said.

Organizers said they planned to make Bronx Celebration Day a yearly event.

“We recognize that Bronx history is incredible and we want to be a part of that in the future,” said Cipriani. “This is a great step in the right direction.”