{"id":5284,"date":"2016-06-24T17:27:55","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T17:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=5284"},"modified":"2016-06-24T17:28:14","modified_gmt":"2016-06-24T17:28:14","slug":"utrgv-folklorico-mariachi-performers-bring-valley-dance-music-traditions-to-washington-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=5284","title":{"rendered":"UTRGV Folkl\u00f3rico, Mariachi Performers Bring Valley Dance, Music Traditions to Washington, D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The UTRGV Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico and the Mariachi Juvenil Aztl\u00e1n pose at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., shortly before their June 10 performance at the venue. Their appearance was part of the 2016 National College Dance Festival. Photo: Courtesy UTRGV<\/p><\/div>\n

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS<\/strong> \u2013 A 32-hour bus ride to Washington, D.C., didn\u2019t dim the spirit of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley\u2019s Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico and Mariachi Juvenil Aztl\u00e1n, who arrived ready to give the performance of a lifetime at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

For their June 10 appearance at the 2016 National College Dance Festival, the dance troupe, under the direction of Francisco Mu\u00f1oz, was accompanied by the university\u2019s newest mariachi ensemble, directed by Francisco Loera.<\/p>\n

They brought to vivid life the colorful culture of a Mexican community by performing \u201cPuebla \u2013 Los Chinacos (1994),\u201d with choreography by renowned guest artist Rafael Zamarripa and restaged by Mu\u00f1oz. (See a brief clip here of the dance performed earlier this year.)<\/p>\n

It was the first visit to Washington, D.C., for dancer Amy Castellanos, who just graduated and has entered a master\u2019s program in special education. She said it was a \u201cdream come true\u201d to perform on a national stage like the Kennedy Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a standing ovation, and it inspired us because it showed that the audience respects our Mexican culture and traditions, especially in light of recent comments nationwide about Mexicans,\u201d she said. \u201cIt also reflects all the hard work, dedication and sacrifice to our dance, which we are passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monica Vargas, who just got her bachelor\u2019s degree in political science, described it as a nerve wracking but a wonderful experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were not sure how the audience would react,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it gave me the chills to see how they responded to folkl\u00f3rico dance, how they accepted us. We put a lot about how we feel about our heritage into our dance. It was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the festival, held June 8-11, 31 schools nationwide representing a wide range of dance styles and forms, performed in three different programs and presented twice each day. Only two other schools from Texas \u2013 UT Austin and Sam Houston State University \u2013 had been selected to perform.<\/p>\n

The UTRGV students advanced to perform at the festival after ranking as one of the top two performances at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) South Conference held March 11-14 at The University of South Mississippi.<\/p>\n

The South Conference is one of 12 ACDA-sponsored nationwide regional conferences, which provide a venue for students not only to perform, but also to engage in workshops, lecture\/demonstrations and master classes taught by instructors from around the region and country.<\/p>\n

At the South Conference, the troupes competed against more than 45 other college and university dance programs. Nationally recognized adjudicators made the selection based on artistic merit and excellence, citing the Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico\u2019s \u201cprecision, percussive footwork\u201d and \u201cvibrant costumes.\u201d Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, also advanced out of the South Conference to the national festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very special accomplishment and celebration for our College of Fine Arts, showcasing our UTRGV dance and music programs at a national level and at this very special venue,\u201d said Dr. Dahlia Guerra, UTRGV assistant vice president of Public Art. \u201cOur students have worked hard to prepare for this competition and performance, and showcasing the talents of both groups together has been very successful, as well as enjoyable and exciting for our students and faculty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico advanced previously to the National College Dance Festival in 2012 and 2014, as UTRGV legacy institution UT Pan American. This is the first time the troupe has performed at the festival as UTRGV artists, and the first time with live accompaniment by one of the university\u2019s own mariachi groups. The Mariachi Juvenil Aztl\u00e1n is UTRGV\u2019s newest mariachi troupe, made up of primarily freshman music students.<\/p>\n

Mu\u00f1oz said he was proud of this \u201ctri-peat\u201d appearance by the folkl\u00f3rico group and thanked the Mariachi Juvenil Aztl\u00e1n for their accompaniment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn sports, you go from the sweet 16, to the Final 4, to the Finals. And for Dance, this is our Finals,\u201d Mu\u00f1oz said. \u201cWhat we accomplished is dedicated to all the small dance programs and mariachi groups in the country who have never had the opportunity to be selected by nationally recognized panels of dance adjudicators across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participating Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico dancers are: Perla Olivo, Estephania Sandoval, Abril Silva Galvan, Aracely Longoria, Lilian Rodriguez, Fancy de Leon, Amy Castellanos, Jennifer Lozano, Monica Vargas, Naileah Garza, Susan Tristan, Mario Quiroz, Angel Hernandez, Brandon Salinas, Anthony Carillo, Uriel Gongora, Guillermo Rivas, Jose Izaguirre, Sergio de Leon, and Anibal Flores.<\/p>\n

Mariachi Juvenil Aztl\u00e1n members who participated include: Jasmin Alaniz, Yarettzy Escobar, Erica Soveranes, Jennifer Garcia, Clyde Guerra, Brigido Lagunes, Rafael Ramirez, Carlos Gonzalez, Rogelio Vazquez, Jose Zamora, Nathan Garcia, Juan Mireles, and Francisco Carreon.<\/p>\n

Go to the College of Fine Arts to learn more about programs offered at UTRGV.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS \u2013 A 32-hour bus ride to Washington, D.C., didn\u2019t dim the spirit of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley\u2019s Ballet Folkl\u00f3rico and Mariachi Juvenil Aztl\u00e1n, who arrived ready to give the performance of a lifetime at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For their June 10 appearance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-valley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5284"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5286,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5284\/revisions\/5286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}