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Posted: 4/24/08

‘Una Primavera Mexicana’ Friday at TAMIU

 

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Travel through México at the Texas A&M International University Ballet Folklórico’s Una Primavera Mexicana Concert Friday, April 25 at 7 p.m. in the TAMIU Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.

General admission is $5 and free for children 10 and under.

The event is sponsored in part by the City of Laredo, County of Webb, Laredo Women’s City Club and Target Community Grant.

The TAMIU Ballet Folklórico, TAMIU Ballet Folklórico Juvenil, Col. Santos Benavides Elementary, Dr. M.E. Malakoff Elementary and Honore Ligarde Elementary will dance to traditional Mexican songs.

The evening’s program includes dances from Colima, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Zacatecas, northern Tamaulipas, northern México, Baja California norte, Nuevo León and Veracruz.

The dances and costumes vary from state to state and region to region and have numerous influences.

“The northern part of México also known as el Norte is recognized for its energetic and joyful dances. These dances—the polkas, chotis and redovas became popular during the Mexican Revolution of 1910 with some dances evolving as recently as the 1970s,” explained Sandra E. Leal-Renteria, director, TAMIU Ballet Folklórico.

“The music and dance forms are highly influenced by Central European countries, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Germany, mother country of the accordion sound that is now symbolic of norteño music,” added Leal.

Another dance influenced by Europeans is the music from Colima, interpreted by mariachi, the typical musical group that became popular during the French invasion of México in 1862. The French used a large group of musicians to play at their weddings or during marriage, which was reinterpreted as mariachi.

The dances from Jalisco are clearly influenced by the Spanish flamenco dance even as the dancers maneuver their costumes, which weigh between 20 – 30 pounds.

The costumes used in the dances from Sinaloa are adapted from the clothes women of that area used to wear. The blouse and skirt are made of light cotton and have big red flowers representing the cultivation of the poppy. On the bottom of skirt are crosses that represent the Catholic influence on the region. Skirts also have tomatoes, chilies and sometimes fish that represent the agriculture and fishing. The men’s costumes are simple and represent the way men dress to work in the fields—pair of blue jeans, light shirt, hat and bandana worn around the neck to wipe away the sweat.

For more information, please contact the Department of Fine and Performing arts at 326.2654 or visit offices in CFPA 217.

University office hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.


Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu