Elena Unger Photos.
“They’re coming! They’re coming!” squealed a little girl in the audience as five mariachi dancers cut through the aisle toward the makeshift stage. Their low black heels, characteristic of Baile folklórico, struck the floor and echoed throughout the central gallery of the Yale Peabody Museum. Within moments of assuming position, the music began, and with radiant smiles, each woman began to dance.
The performance, led by the Spanish Community of Wallingford Youth Mariachi Dancers, was part of ¡Fiesta Latina!, a two-day celebration of Hispanic cultures featuring educational programming, music, dance, and food. This year, the lineup of events spanned an entire weekend, taking place between Junta for Progressive Action on Saturday and the Peabody Museum on Sunday.
Collaborators ranged from Proyecto Cimarrón, Music Haven, the New Haven Pride Center and ARTE, Inc. to gallery guides and Yale students who gave tours and interactive workshops in Spanish.
Before the performance, the five dancers clustered in the Richard Study Gallery to perfect their hair and makeup. They touched up their eyeshadow—meant to match the color of their folklórico dresses—and whispered to each other in anticipation.
When the clock struck 1:30, the dancers shuffled to the front of the room. Mariachi music poured through the central gallery speakers, the dancers lifted their skirts and carefully stepped to the beat. Audience members began clapping along to the heartbeat of the music.
“I started about two years ago,” said Bianca Avila, a member of the Youth Mariachi Dancers. “I dance because I’ve always been in love with my culture.”
On Sunday, Avila performed beside her godmother, Vivian Rodriguez. She carries a deep appreciation for getting to dance with her family as she expresses and explores her heritage.
Rodriguez also has a unique family link within the mariachi group: her mom is the director.
“I wanted to feel close to my mom’s heritage, roots and upbringing,” said Rodriguez when asked why she dances. She smiled as she looked out to the audience.
“It feels great seeing a lot of people from our culture, but also from outside our culture be present. We get to see our heritage be celebrated and share our arts with people who may not know them,” she said.
That is the objective for ¡Fiesta Latina!, which has been a collaborative effort between Junta and the Peabody for 20 years. Cheila Serrano, the director of programs at Junta, said she believes that the Peabody is a great ally for emphasizing the importance of cultural engagement and education.
“We want to see more diversity in the museum, and we are bringing the party here,” said Serrano. “Our goal is to educate our community and our neighborhood.”
According to Serrano, gathering to appreciate the arts is a cornerstone of what it means to appreciate one's Latinx roots. She was grateful to be a part of organizing the diverse lineup of events at the Peabody, including a performance by Proyecto Cimarrón, a Puerto Rican Bomba performance group; the Spanish Community of Wallingford’s youth mariachi dance troupe; Tere Luna, a bolero singer; and Orquesta Afinke, a salsa band based in Stratford.
The event not only emphasized performance arts, said Andrea Motto, assistant director of public education and outreach for the Peabody, but became an amalgamation of educational and artistic activities. In between and during performances, the museum offered gallery tours in Spanish, a butterfly workshop, a flag-coloring station for children, as well as the opportunity to meet two different Latina scientists.
The Peabody intends to continue Spanish programming on a monthly basis, said Motto.
As attendees weaved in and out of the galleries, discovering new activities and age-old artifacts, the music in the central gallery proved irresistible. As the mariachi troupe’s performance went on, the audience grew and grew.
After the performance, the group of young women confidently strode off stage back toward the Richard Study to take photos with attendees. They smiled unabashedly as children tucked themselves in the folds of their skirts for a photo.
For Julia Atanasio-Villa, a mariachi dancer of two years, participating in ¡Fiesta Latina! cultivated an earnest sense of cultural connection. The same went for dancer Veronica Gonzalez.
“I like the music, and I love dancing. I think it’s a really nice way to stay connected to my culture in a predominantly white area,” she said.