Punjab folk festival gets a Mexican flavour

Ludhiana: Attired in colorful and vibrant costumes, Mexican dance artists regaled the audience with traditional folk dances from the Veracruz and Jalisco regions of Mexico. The Mariachi music added flavour to this international concert in a multi-cultural mélange of diverse cultures at Government College for Girls (GCG) on Thursday morning. Scintillating performances by Mexican and Punjabi artists made the audience spell-bound during the Punjab International Folk Festival, organised by Punjabi Cultural Promotion Council. Arutro Javier, Ana Patricia, Itza Areli, Erika Arlette, and other Mexican dancers and artists gave scintillating performances. A dozen international folk artists of Espiritu Mexicano Danza Folklorica were the star attraction during the multi-cultural extravaganza.
The audience enjoyed the world-class folk dances by the Latin American folk ensemble, as well as Punjabi folk performances on the same platform. Javier, manager of the Mexican folk ensemble, said, “It was my life-time dream to come to India, which has come true with this visit to Punjab. Interestingly, all the members bought a traditional Punjabi dress, and also visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Artiste Maria Eugenia said, “Our artistes learnt bhangra here during a short visit, which is quite difficult. In Mexico, Compania de Danza Folklorica Mexicana is a platform made up of students from different colleges of the University. Colleges are dedicated to providing high quality folklore and exposure to all facets of Mexican folk dance and music.”
Luis Alonso, another artiste, said a dance teacher judges the student’s strengths and areas for growth, and applies the teaching skills in such a way so as to maximise the student’s enjoyment, besides helping them reach their ultimate potential. Teachers motivate and develop young minds into the art of Mexican Folklore Dance and Music a lot.”
Gabriela Espiritu, another artiste, said, “All our dance forms have a historic context, for instance Aztecs is a performance about our Mexican past, Yucatan represents our traditional day of death, Chihuahua talks about the Mexican revolution and soldiers, and Sinaloa represents the carnival, and happiness of Mexican people. Ana Patricia said, “Every year, our team participates in the Huixquillocan Festival, like youth festivals in India, and in Tlalnepantla, we participate on the Festival Muerte Viva or Living Death With Difficult Steps. Laura Teresa, a dance artiste, said, “When performing folk ballets, we present traditional Mexican dances and music at the highest level.”
Punjab Cultural Promotion Council chairman Davinder Singh Chinna said, “Such events are full of life and enthusiasm, representing the folklore traditions of Punjab and Mexico. Our mission is to promote international co-operation, multi-culturalism, and humanity through these cultural and academic exchanges.”