We’re gathered in the stately, historic Angela Peralta theater. The theater buzzes with the families, friends, and guests flowing into the space. The lights dim and multicolored laser lights begin to dance about the theater.Then there’s the “bass drop” and the pulsing music as the curtains open and we’re off. Welcome to Mexicanisimo, a celebration of Mexico, its culture, and its traditions. The show is a production of Espacio Gimnasio, produced by Paulina Valtierra and company.
One of the great things for us about “settling” down has been becoming part of the community. It has taken time and effort. One of the many ways we became involved was joining a local gymnastics club. We originally learned about Espacio Gimnasio from an acquaintance a little over three years ago as a place we could sign E up for gymnastics lessons. He says he’s not interested in competitive team sports and we were looking for a way to get him exercise, meet other kids, and immerse him in Spanish. So it seemed like a great fit. He did gymnastics for about 8-9 months. We really loved the enthusiasm of the gym and the staff, the constant encouragement, and patience.
Through the class, we learned they were going to start a “tricking” class and would he be interested in trying? Absolutely! He eventually stopped the gymnastics and focused solely on the tricking (which is full of acrobatics too). Tricking is a combination of gymnastics and martial art-inspired moves. The class is taught by Arath Garcia, who comes in from Dolores Hidalgo, about 30-40 kilometers northwest of here, every Saturday morning. Arath is about 16 years-old and is a fantastic teacher! I feel like we have to qualify it by saying “especially for his age,” but he’s just a good teacher, period! Patient, kind, passionate, mature, bien educado!
Paulina, the owner of the gym, puts on a show every year or every other year. We actually participated in a great show two years ago. Last year, for various reasons there was no show. This year, though, was Mexicanisimo. Ethan’s tricking class was going to be luchadores and do a Lucha Libre performance – the famous Mexican professional wrestling phenomenon. And he would be Blue Demon, one of the most famous luchadores of all. Over the next 6 months, they practiced and rehearsed in preparation. And since Ethan can actually dance pretty well, being flexible and in-shape and able to (mostly) keep a rhythm, he was also invited to participate in one of the dance numbers, Celebracion!. We couldn’t have been more proud or more excited. It was a lot of rehearsal, and frankly, it is amazing that Paulina and company can keep it together for so long with such grace…but they really do.
The show was 14 different acts – a mix of interpretive dance, aerial silks (telas), gymnastics, acrobatics, circus hoop (aro), traditional folkloric dance, and tricking, including alebrijes, catrinas, and luchadores, among others. It included acts for all the gym participants, so included kids from about 2-3 years old up to young adult.
A selection of pictures from the show:
Photos courtesy of Valadez Productions
Being in the audience, watching all the hard work pay off for the kids and the teachers, we were so proud, We were proud of our son for his willingness to be involved and really go for it. I think we were all proud of watching our kids learn how those six months of practices and rehearsals all came together into an extraordinary show. We appreciated the mix of ages – frequently with the older or more experienced working with and mentoring the younger or less experienced. And finally, we felt so grateful to be able to be a part of a community that was so welcoming, so enthusiastic, and so supportive. It truly was a celebration of Mexico and its deep, rich, varied culture – both in the show and the audience.
Luchadores:
Celebracion!:
The show description:
“En un País donde las malas noticias abundan, y donde la indiferencia y el caos reinan, la naturaleza nos despierta con un movimiento de la tierra para recordarnos que somos un solo pueblo, que yo soy tú y tú eres yo.“Que estamos llenos de riquezas, cultura y tradición: desde las catrinas de Guadalupe Posada, de los mágicos alebrijes de Pedro Linares, de nuestros artesanos y sus juguetes mexicanos, de nuestros propios súper héroes como el Santo y Bluedemon, de nuestras riquezas naturales, la sabiduría de nuestros ancestros.
“Sin olvidar a nuestro México joven, moderno, lleno de talento y toda la gente buena que se levanta cada día con un sueño y trabaja por él.
“Observa todo lo bueno y cambia lo que no te gusta pero hazlo desde adentro.
VIVA MÉXICO.”
“In a country where the bad news is abundant, and where indifference and chaos reign, nature awakens us with a movement of the earth to remind us that we are one people, that I am you and you are me.
“That we are full of riches, culture, and tradition: from the Catrinas of Guadalupe Posada, from the magical Alebrijes of Pedro Linares, from our artisans and their Mexican games and toys, from our own superheroes like Santo and Blue Demon, from our natural riches, the wisdom of our ancestors.
“Without forgetting our Mexican youth, modern, full of talent and all the good people that get up every day with a dream and work for it.
Observe everything good and change what you don’t like but do it from the inside.”
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