Santa Maria High School’s Ethel Pope Auditorium to host Ballet Folklorico Events

Three local groups will perform this coming weekend.

Santa+Maria+High+Schools+Ethel+Pope+Auditorium+to+host+Ballet+Folklorico+Events

Experience the beauty and richness of Mexican culture as three local groups present “Fiesta Mexicana” on Friday, November 11th and Saturday, November 12th inside Santa Maria High School’s
Ethel Pope Auditorium. The 7 p.m. performances will showcase the ballet folklórico groups from Righetti High School, Allan Hancock College, community youth group Corazón de la Costa and the Righetti Marimba Band. This year’s special guest is Los Danzantes de Aztlán from Fresno State University.
“Fiesta Mexicana” is a two-hour program featuring ten different regions of traditional Mexican folk dance and several contemporary selections as well. The performance will include dance selections from the Mexican states of Baja California, Campeche, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Veracruz, Yucatán, and Jalisco. “The program is festive and is filled with a wide variety of exciting music and dances reflecting the diverse world of Mexican and Latino music and dance,” according to RHS Marimba Band and Ballet Folklórico Director Ricardo Gabaldon.

Natalia Zepeda, 12th grade, dancer, 4-year member of Righetti Ballet Folklórico
“Fiesta Mexicana is really special because you can see how hard every group has worked to deliver such an amazing performance and give the audience a taste of our culture. We’ve all put so much time and effort into our dances and songs to perfect them. It’s exciting to see all the groups come together, and to see young kids looking up to us is such a heartwarming feeling. This experience has taught me so much about my culture. I now feel even more connected to my roots and I’m so excited to be able to share it with our community.”

Fabian Gomez, 12th grade, dancer, Righetti High School Ballet Folklórico
“We are all so excited to be able to show the public what our heritage has to offer. I invite you all to come to Fiesta Mexicana and see all these marvelous groups (Corazon de La Costa, Fresno State University’s Danzantes de Aztlan, and Allan Hancock College) come together as one and show you our hard work and passion. We hope you enjoy the show and keep on supporting us throughout the years by coming to our other performances around the community.”

Diego Melgoza, 11th grade, dancer, 2-year member of Righetti Ballet Folklórico
“Fiesta is a chance for us to show off and embrace our culture, featuring a taste of the great variety and unique tradition of Mexico. We come together with the local group Corazon de La Costa, Fresno State University’s Danzantes de Aztlan, and Allan Hancock College as a community to give everyone a little taste and acknowledgment of our culture. We practice for months to be able to perfect our work and give an amazing show. Not only has it taught me hard work and discipline, but the importance of teamwork and dedication. We hope you enjoy the show!”

Jenni Torres, 12th grade, dancer, 2-year member of Righetti Ballet Folklórico
“Fiesta Mexicana” is a very special event. We have worked so hard as a group to present a variety of cultural performances. Our group has had so much fun putting this show together. We are so excited to work in collaboration with Fresno State University, Allan Hancock College, and Corazon de la Costa. It’s so much fun being together and bonding with one another while embracing our culture.”

Tickets for the “Fiesta” performance can be purchased from the student performers as well as at the Righetti Business Office. All seats are $10.00 in advance/$15.00 at the door.