On Friday, Feb. 14, Popejoy Hall was filled with colorful costumes, lively music and passionate dancers as Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández performed for one night in Albuquerque before returning to Mexico City.
The world-renowned dance group traveled to New Mexico and shared its artistry of traditional song and dance, celebrating Mexican culture and heritage. The group performed at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe on Feb. 12 before its Valentine’s Day performance at the University of New Mexico.
The performance and choreography exhibited traditional Folklorico dances from throughout the country and celebrated pre-colonial Mesoamerican cultures, according to a Popejoy press release.
The show started with an homage to the Mayans and included other moments from Mexico’s history, including “La Danza del Venado,” or The Deer Dance, and Las Adelitas, which is the name given to female soldiers who fought during the Mexican revolution.
The state of Veracruz was represented by dancers passionately striking their shoes in a “zapateado” dance on a wooden platform, their feet rhythmically in sync to cheerful Veracruz harp music. The stage was filled with movement as the women swayed in white flowy skirts between men dancing in all-white suits.
“La Danza del Venado” represents the state of Sonora and is recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, according to the program booklet. The dance is rooted in Indigenous Yaqui and Mayo cultures and is performed as a ritual before hunting expeditions.
The performance features a dancer dressed as a deer who runs and leaps across the stage, accompanied by two dancers dressed as hunters who gracefully circle around the deer to the songs of drums, singing and rattles.
Ballet Folklórico de México was founded by choreographer Amalia Hernández in 1952 and has been performed throughout the world for over 70 years, according to the press release.
“There are nine dances in this program and each is a different historical or mythical reenactment,” the press release reads.
The company continues under the leadership of Hernández’s grandson, Salvador López López, and has earned several awards including the National Arts Award from the Mexican government, the Tiffany Award in New York and Lo Nuestro Excellence Award from the México Unidos Foundation, according to the press release.
Performers occasionally chanted “Viva México,” which never failed to energize the audience.
Some dancers went into the seating area, inviting audience members to dance with them when the mariachi group played its final songs during the show’s finale, the “Fiesta en Jalisco.”
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The “Fiesta en Jalisco” featured mariachi music and dancers dressed in brightly colored costumes, which are powerful symbols of Mexican identity, according to the program. Performers danced songs such as “El Son de La Negra,” which is sometimes referred to as Mexico’s second national anthem.
Francisco Uviña-Contreras, a professor at the UNM School of Architecture and Planning, attended the performance. He said the show brought back his childhood memories of growing up in Juarez.
“As a Mexican, there's a level of pride that engulfs you into the music, into your country,” Uviña-Contreras said. “There's always a connection to history, a connection to Indigenous people, to cosmology … that's the identity that us Mexicans have.”
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
