Fiesta Folklórica will take place at the Van Duzer theatre Feb. 28 to March 2
The third annual Fiesta Folklórica will take place at Van Duzer Theatre on Friday Feb. 28 at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 2 at 2p.m. Ballet Folklórico de Humboldt and Danza Azteca will be performing with special guests from Eureka High School LatinX Club and Ballet Folklórico Infantil de Arcata. Admission is free for Cal Poly Humboldt students with a student ID, general admission is $8-13.
As of now there are still tickets available and can be purchased on the CPH website: https://tickets.humboldt.edu/dance-music-and-theatre
The program will feature a variety of dances from all over Mexico. Starting with Indigenous dances and then moving to the dances that have Indigenous, European and Afro-caribbean influences, representing cultural heritage and history from the states of Oaxaca, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Vera Cruz and Jalisco.
“We’re showing the next generation of dancers, maybe potential future students that they can one day pursue higher education,” said Jackie Silva, co-director for Fiesta Folklórica and advisor for Ballet Folklórica de Humboldt. “Events like this really bring the community together, not just the campus community but the outer community.”
Sergio Garza-Valencia, a CPH social work graduate student, has been a dancer for Danza Azteca and Ballet Folklórico for three years and has been dancing Folklórico since he was 5 years old. This year he is co-teacher of the Eureka High School LatinX Club for Fiesta Folklórico.
“They’re doing Los Viejitos, which is from Michoacan, that’s really personal to me because my family is from Michoacan, so seeing them do that dance is super cool,” Garza-Valencia said. “They’re committed and they put in the work and it’s nice to see the next generation take on this tradition that I grew up doing.”
This will be the first year Fiesta Folklórica will take place at Van Duzer theatre to accommodate larger audiences.
“I think it’s just great and it’s well deserved too, we had so many sold out shows in the past,” Silva said. “We don’t have big events like this all the time, that really celebrates Mexican culture, and all ages, I think that’s what’s going to make this concert very special.”
