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Dance, music event to celebrate Mexican independence in September

April Chavez

Aug 26, 2023

Ballet Folklorico Corazon de la Costa and Ballet Folklorico Imperial will hold a weekend of Mexican dance and music in September to celebrate Mexico's independence.

https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/dance-music-event-to-celebrate-mexican-independence-in-september/article_255d21a4-2022-5b88-ad08-2048a97dfa96.html


The event, "México en la Piel," is slated for Sep. 8-9 at Ethel Pope Auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. With a “fiestas patrias" theme, the groups will present a diverse rubric of traditional folklorico dance and music for Mexico en la Piel 2023.


“What's unique about this show is this one celebrates fiestas patrias, which is celebrating Mexico’s independence,” said Luis Lopez, director of Ballet Folklorico Imperial. “So just like how Santa Barbara has their own event, now Santa Maria has our own too. So we are celebrating Mexican Independence Day and that’s something that’s going to be unique to Santa Maria.”

The showcase is a collaborative effort and is under the direction of Lopez from Ballet Folklorico Imperial and Marivel Lozano from Ballet Folklorico Corazon de la Costa. According to Lopez the fall concert is composed of over 80 dancers and more than 12 original choreographic selections that hail from all regions and states of Mexico.


“Thanks to the support of the community last year, and the attendance and their donations during the event, this will be our second annual show,” said Lopez. “We were able to make this show even bigger than it was before last time. We have new costumes, we have new dance regions, we have even more members and over 80 dancers and singers in the show.”

Lozano directs the youth group and Lopez the adult group, which according to Lopez features dancers ranging from babies ages three, four, and up all the way to adults in their 40s and 50s. Also joining the performances will be Santa Maria and Pioneer Valley high schools' folklorico groups, which will be performing at 6:30 p.m. for the pre-show.


Lopez began dancing folklórico in 2002 at Righetti High School under the instruction of Ricardo Gabaldón, Sr. He has choreographed and performed for ¡Folklórico! productions since 2007 at Allan Hancock College; as well as for Dance Spectrum, SummerDance, and Dimensions in Dance. Since graduating from Allan Hancock College, he has performed for the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Sparks half-time shows in the Staples Center; as well as in television segments for Univision’s Despierta America under the direction of Alicia Mendibles of Paso de Oro Dance Company.


Lopez said all of the group's costumes are new and will showcase a wide spectrum of colors and embroidery. He said the groups have been practicing for about three months, but production for the show started as soon as last year's event ended.


“We are two weeks away from showtime, and we are very excited because ... we are going down another level. A lot of times we think of Mexican dances mainly as mariachi or jarabe Tapatío, but we are doing Oaxaca, we are doing Tabasco, which is rarely done out here in Santa Maria.”

Traditional Mexican folk dances from the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon, Aguascalientes, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Jalisco and more will be part of the performance. 

Lozano started her dance education at Allan Hancock College and has continued as a dancer and/or choreographer since 2003. She studied several styles including ballet folklorico, classical ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical, hip hop, tap, flamenco, latin styles, and bollywood.

She has been teaching dance for children since 2010 and says “above all, I love ballet folklorico because I am very proud of my heritage and through music and dance I am able to share it with the world.”


Lozano has directed several dance groups for six years, including the group which she founded in 2018, Ballet Folklórico Corazón de la Costa. Lozano also teaches classical ballet, tap, hip hop, contemporary and more at KleinDance Arts in Santa Maria. She also teaches Spanish through the World Languages and Cultures Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Doors for the show open at 6:15 p.m. and a pre-show will begin at 6:30 p.m. Lopez encourages buying presale tickets because the show sold out last year and some had to be turned away at the door.


Presale tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and can be bought by calling Lopez at (805) 332-9881. 


April Chavez is the Santa Maria City Reporter for the Santa Maria Times. If you have information, or a story idea that you would like to share, send her an email at AChavez@SantaMariaTimes.com

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