Feliz Navidad.
A magical
evening in old Sacramento on Dec 11, 04'.
Children singing, parents smiling, folkloristas
zapateando, and everyone celebrating the
posadas. |
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2 nights in Santa Clara.
Windswept streets move the palms located at the
entrance to the historic Iglesia which serves as
the center piece to the Santa Clara University
campus. In a 2 evening show on the weekend of
September 14, RAICES joined Alegria De San Jose
in their annual celebration of cultural dance.
Gracia, to the Alegria squad for inviting us to
join them for this amazing show. |
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Celebrating 1 Year in Old Sacramento
Together
with Yemaya Salsa, Samba da Terra, and Mariachi
Jalisco, RAICES invited the Sacramento Community
to Open House on Sept 4. As a packed audience
screamed in appreciation of the work of these
Latino Dance organizations, members, friends and
family stopped by to see the events. RAICES is
committed to continuing it's work at the Escuela
located at 128 J Street in Old Sac. |
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Pachangeando
What better way to cap off a great day of
festivities on Saturday 9/4 than a Baile?
Grooving to the best Latino dance sounds, the
dance floor was packed all night long.
Muchisimas Gracias to Abraham Contreras for his
fine DJ work. Stay tuned as plans are in the
works to hold a weekly Dance at the Cultural
Dance Center. |
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Arriba La Tierra Huasteca!
Noted
Maestro Alex Palencia conducted a workshop in
Tamaulipas Huasteca dance styles on the weekend
of August 27th. RAICES thanks Maestro Palencia,
whose resume includes expereince dancing for
such noted Companies as the BF de Amalia
Hernadez, for his wonderful work with our dance
Group. The Company looks forward to presenting
the New Huasteca material throughout the State
very soon. |
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Folklorico Summer Gigs:
Check out over 80 pictures taken by our best
photographer, Sandy Ruedas. This set includes
great shots of our recent presentations all over
Sacramento including Festival de la Familia and
5 de Mayo. |
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Tour of Schools photo essay:
Mas que nada, Folklorico is about preserving
traditions. In a time when it not exactly cool
to promote the cultura of Latinos and
immigrants, RAICES reaches out to school
children in an annual tour to educate and
present the beauty of Mexican Dance. Sacramento
Escuelas, like those around the state of
California, are filled with brown faces longing
to see a reflection of themselves in the
Artistic diaspora. |
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A Day at Practice-March 04 at RAICES Escuela
The life of a folklorista
is about hard work. The reality being that few professional dancers
actually make their living at Mexican Dance. And so they come, from
long hours behind desks or at class, muscles tight from the sedentary
day, fresh from a pit stop at home to change clothes and maybe grab a
light dinner. Their commitment is about the joy of the dance. |
Sacramento Folklorico Festival 2004
On Saturday May 11, over
50 local folkloristas, representing 4 different dance organizations
combined their talents at the CSUS Ballrooms to present a wonderful
variety of dance styles from throughout Mexico. It was the 1st such
joint show since RAICES organized a folklorico Festival in November of
1997. Much thanks to BF Nube de Oro, BF flor del Corazon de Sac HS,
and McClatchy HS Folklorico for their wonderful work on this great
event. |
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Festival de La Familia- 4/25/04
Unique to the Sacramento community is a celebration dedicated to
Latino Culture that draws over 100, 000 people to the grounds of
California Exposition Center. |
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Danzantes Unidos Festival- Fresno April
2-4.
A thousand folkloristas milled past the
mercado shops on their way to talleres de
danza. Children scurried past their prents
as they rushed to not be late for their Nayarit class.
A balmy, sunny weather, greeted the
participants who had gathered from all
parts of California to attend the 2004
Danzantes Unidos Festival... |
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A Day in February
February 29, as snow brushes the tree tops
on the Sierra mountains, the Biggest
Little city in the USA (Reno) beckons a
team of 22 dancers to the renowned
Atlantis Casino. RAICES would like to
thank Paul Reyes and the Friends of
Special Children organization for giving
us the opportunity to dance in their
fund-raising Gala. Congrats to all dancers
who gave their time and talent to help
raise thousands of dollars for this
incredible cause.
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Road-trip: Reno
You've seen the pictures of the show. Now
see how some of the performers got there
and how they got back. |
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Road-trip: L.A.!
Got together with Oz and Angelica, skipped
practice, bought lethal doses of junk food
and drove until we didn't know where we
were... that pretty much covers it. After
missing Reno, this webmaster couldn't not
have his own road trip... |
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Sac High Dance
Recital
On the site of one of the oldest existing
High Schools North of the Mississippi
river, the recently organized St. Hope
Charter school has made a commitment to
keeping the arts alive. On display at
their Winter recital were works of faculty
and community choreographers including
RAICES Director, Roxana Borrego. |
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