Authentic Mexican dance group at Qns. Theatre
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
Life got you down? Every
now and then, do you feel like
kicking up your heels and
kicking back a little instead of
worrying about the future?
Then get your tickets to
an authentic Mexican dance
performance at Queens
Theatre … and get happy.
Mexican dance is no
longer a way to appease the
Mayan and Aztec gods. These
dancers will be celebrating
life, folklore and an important
event when Calpulli Mexican
Dance Company debuts its
first historical work April 13
and 14.
“Puebla: The Story of Cinco
de Mayo,” celebrates the people
and cultures of Puebla, Mexico.
Like pieces of art that are
perfectly woven together, the
show combines the rhythm
of the music and the vibrant
colors of the dancers’ clothing
into a memorable event. Close
your eyes and you may feel as if
you’re sipping Mexican coffee
in a tiny café with Mariachi
music playing in the square.
Historical events helped
shape Mexican dance into
what it is today, and “Puebla”
is Calpulli’s first production
depicting the chronological
events of the battle in Puebla,
as well as the connections to the
U.S. and NYC.
Juan Castaño, managing
director and co-founder of the
East Elmhurst-based dance
company, believes a lot of
Americans could benefit from
learning more about what
makes May 5 so significant in
Mexico.
“Cinco de Mayo is a very
commercial celebration in the
United States, much larger
than in Mexico itself. We want
to add more substance and
history to this cross-cultural
opportunity,” he explained.
While it’s not Mexico’s
equivalent to the Fourth of
July, it does mark a turning
point in the country’s history
and the last time a country in
the Americas was invaded by
a foreign army.
“Symbolically, it’s the story
of the underdog, the victory
by a small group of Mexican
soldiers and commoners
over the French army — the
strongest military force of the
time — in the Mexican state
The Calpulli Dance Company will perform at Queens Theatre on
April 13-14. Photo by Julieta Cervantes
of Puebla on May 5, 1862,”
Castaño noted.
Alberto Lopez Herrera,
Calpulli’s artistic director and
co-founder, comes from a small
town in the south of Puebla
called San Antonio Chiltepec.
He and Castaño started their
company in 2003 and have
lived in Jackson Heights,
Jamaica and East Elmhurst
across 30 years.
“This story and show is
an opportunity that I have
to share my point of view on
my home as a child with the
community I have in NYC,”
Herrera said.
“Growing up in Mexico,
the Battle of Puebla and Cinco
de Mayo was celebrated with
parades and lessons in school.
In the USA, I saw from a young
age that it was much larger,
and I was surprised by this.
With this story, I would like to
make Poblanas and Poblanos,
the people of Puebla, proud
of their culture and proud of
their story.”
Calpulli is about celebrating
the rich diversity of Mexican
and Mexican-American
cultural heritage through
dance and live music.
“We do that through
performances by our touring
company, arts-in-education
enrichment programming
and free or low-cost activities
that target the underserved
Mexican and Mexican-
American communities,”
Castaño noted.
The show will feature
new works by Lopez and
commissions by former artistic
director Noemy Hernandez,
whose works fuse folkloric
dance and contemporary
movement. There will also
be new pieces by Grisel Pren
Monje, who is originally from
Cancun, and now works as the
company’s rehearsal director.
Describing American vs.
Mexican cultural values, he
said, “I think there are far
more things that we have in
common than are different,
to be honest. However, I think
one difference is how folkloric
art is instilled in Mexicans at
a very young age and perhaps
explains why we cherish
these traditions so much
as adults.”
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36 TIMESLEDGER, APR. 5-11, 2019 QNS.COM
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