First 'Fiesta' highlights Mexican arts

Thuy Chu/Daily Forty-Niner

Mexica dancers Sheina Espinosa and Raul Granados practice combinations of folklorico dance.

By Thuy Chu
On-line Forty-Niner

A culmination of two years of planning will come into fruition for two Cal State Long Beach cultural organizations, Grupo Folklorico Mexica and Movimiento Estudiantil de Teatro y Arte, as they prepare to put on their first ceremony celebrating Mexican folklorico dancing.

The two Chicano clubs will perform skits and traditional Mexican folklorico dancing from the different regions of Mexico in "Fiesta at The Beach" taking place Friday and Saturday at the University Theatre.

"It's mostly going to be a dancing event to educate the community and the students of Cal State Long Beach on the folklore of Mexico," said Lorenzo Uribe, president of Mexica and treasurer of META.

The dancing will be performed by dancers of Mexica, while META will be putting on short plays to introduce the different origins of each dance, according to Jesus Salas, technician in charge of music and lighting for the event.

Uribe created Mexica two years ago because of the lack of a folklorico group on campus. As a dancer for more than 10 years, he felt the organization would benefit students by allowing them an escape from the hectic pace of every day's life.

"It's kind of a fun activity or a hobby that people can take on campus," Uribe said. "It's also to expand our cultural awareness by dancing to our own folk culture."

Ruth Fabela, vice-president of Mexica and one of the dancers in the event, joined the organization out of mere curiosity about folklorico dancing.

"My biggest passion is dance, and I just wanted to learn something new," she said. "I had never danced [folklorico] before."

While Mexica focuses more on dancing, META highlights the dramatic arts, recently putting on a successful performance of "The Migrant Farmworker's Son" at University Theater in September.

"It's more political things that are going on to educate people, to open their eyes," Uribe said of the production.

META also incorporates other genres of arts including rap, theater and poetry, he added. "Anything and everything that have to do with the arts," he said.

"Fiesta at the Beach" will mark the first collaboration between the two organizations. This event has been in the planning stages for two years, with the first dance rehearsal beginning last November.

"Everyone has done a very good job," Fabela said. "Everyone is putting a lot of efforts into it. This past two weeks, we have been practicing for everyday until 11 at night."

Uribe expects a high turn out for the event from students and staffs of CSULB as well as community members of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

 

EVENTS LISTING

What: "Fiesta at the Beach"
When: 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday
Where: University Theater 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA
For Reservation: (562)-572-9058