Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández revives some great memories from my childhood, visiting my grandparents' neighborhood near Pilsen. The performance last Saturday was greeted with applause and shouts of "¡Viva México!". The program features traditional dances from different states in Mexico such as Jalisco, Sonora, and Guerrero that have distinct folk dances that recreate history and carry on the folklore of Mexico. The performance opens with a dramatic and stylized dance commemorating the legends of the Mayan people. Los Mayas featured brilliantly colored costumes and headdresses portraying goddesses and royalty. Despite the word ballet in the title, this is not traditional ballet. The movements look more like South Asian Brahma deities or hieroglyphics from Egypt.
Los Mayas was more of a historic tableau with dramatic drums and low rumbling voices. The other dances were more celebratory and indicative of everyday life. The group was accompanied by a live mariachi band, adding an authenticity that can not be reproduced with recorded music. The imperfect violin tuning and aggressive bowing are hallmarks of mariachi music. Six violins and two trumpets kept the rhythm for the Mexican vihuela guitar and the bass of the guitarrón. The mariachi sang and revved up the crowd, encouraging them to clap.
One of my favorite dances was La Revolución, which featured las soldaderas—women soldiers who fought on both sides of the Mexican Revolution. The dancers wore sashes of bullets and carried rifles. The dance was defiant, with the women standing proudly and thumping their rifles on the stage. They were also known as Adelitas, which means women of courage and strength. (I remember reading about them in a Spanish class.) The men are off fighting, and the women are expected to take care of the hearth and home. Instead, they form battalions, take up arms, and fight along with Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa.
My absolute favorite of the dances was La Vida es Juego (Life is a Game). This performance features some new characters from the Lotería game and other traditional circus performers. El Diablo (the Devil), la Calavera (Death), and El Negrito (Black Man) make appearances. El Negrito was not in the past performance, but he appeared in this one wearing a flamenco shirt. FYI, it is not a blackface caricature but an acknowledgment of a Black presence in Mexico—particularly in Vera Cruz. La Vida es Juego was set against a carnival backdrop with clowns and characters in papier-mache heads. La Bruja (the Witch) appears as a giant parade character with a large Diablo.
A smaller diablo prances about the stage poking at the other dancers with a pitchfork. It is bawdy and funny without being lewd. La Calavera moved as if she were boneless and a comical character. In Mexico's festival dedicated to death—Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)—the ancestors are celebrated with anything but funereal parties.
Another repeat performance from other Folkloric productions I have reviewed was La Danza del Venado (Dance of the Deer). This athletic performance shows the struggle for survival between man and beast. The stag has wooden front hooves that add to the percussion. It was appropriately jarring and added an emotional edge to the dance. I was pulling for the deer.
Many of the dances feature festivals. Fiesta En Tlacotalpan and Fiesta En Jalisco reminded me of the festivals still happening in Pilsen. Caballeros, mariachis, and beautiful women fill the streets with religious tributes and rodeo performers. Foot stomping is similar to flamenco, with romance added. There are stolen kisses and courting, which would happen at festivals. It was reminiscent of Mardi Gras or Carnival, which celebrates the profane and the sacred.
Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández, founded in Mexico in 1952 by Amalia Hernández-Navarro, keeps the tradition alive and reminds us that every culture contributes something of beauty to the world. The company brings authenticity to music and dance that formerly was parodied in the United States. Now Amalia's grandson, Salvador López-López is the general director.
Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández performed last weekend at the Auditorium Theatre. You can find more information about this company at https://balletfolkloricodemexico.com.mx
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