The Day of the Dead (Día de (los) Muertos) is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2 and coincides with Halloween on October 31. This is no accident as the Spanish influence over indigenous Mexican and ancient Aztec rituals will attest. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and remember friends and family members who have died. They do this utilizing calaveras (skeletons) marigold flowers for their ofrendas or home altars, and the display of favorite foods and beverages as gifts for the dead. All of these were in evidence at Floricanto’s 23rd Annual Fiesta.
Upon entering the Arts Center, one is met with a beautiful ofrenda with effigies of a soldier, a young woman, three men who are possibly field hands, with lights, marigolds and crosses. One of the men is a Toreador with a red cape, another is a gentleman with blood all over his hands. I found out later these all were to be represented onstage, and their stories revealed. A brilliant bit of foreshadowing. Inside the magnificent theater space every wall was covered with intricate and ornate murals detailing various personages and icons. Yes, there was Our Lady of Guadalupe as well as a skeleton with a scythe among many others. The colors were vibrant and celebratory. In the back of the house was another larger and more elaborate ofrenda where it was possible to leave a note remembering your own dear departed ones and inviting them to the nights’ festivities. There was a profusion of skulls, flowers and pictures of loved ones, candles, and a marionette of La Calavera Catrina.
Danza Floricanto’s Fiesta del dia de los Muertos – Mimi Rios in “Two Steps Forward, One Step Back” – Photo by Elvia Nava.
She is the creation of José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican illustrator working through the time of the Mexican Revolution until his death in 1913. The Mexican muralist Diego Rivera elaborated Posada’s Catrina image into a full-scale figure in a fresco he painted in 1946-47. She has become an emissary of the Day of the Dead ever since. And she was the hostess incarnate in Floricanto’s show. She welcomed us in and then showed us her power. The evening progressed as a sort of Vaudeville of Death where short vignettes were played out displaying various situations where Death was present, honored, celebrated, and even welcomed. It was a series worthy of The Twilight Zone.
We were introduced to the show by Christie Rios, Artistic Director of Danza Floricanto/USA a.k.a. Floricanto Dance Theatre. This is the 50th Anniversary of the company and Rios has assumed the reins from Gema Sandoval. Rios introduced the evening as a “social commentary” through dance pertaining to the Chicano culture, yet the subject material displayed had moral impact for anyone watching. A mother loses her baby, a young soldier goes to war, an over-confidant Toreador turns his back at the wrong time, a woman in love is scorned, three field hands fight, a 7-year old in a school shooting, those dying to cross a border, a gang fight, an underage girl has a baby with consequences. Here Rios has upped the ante for Holiday fare and it was welcome and brilliantly done. The performers had an authenticity that evoked our compassion for the lives lost and the circumstances that caused it. This was simple story telling at its most heartfelt. The imagery was poignant and powerful.
Fiesta del dia de los Muertos – Jesus Norianueva and Andrew Ortiz in You Must Die – Photo by Elvia Nava.
I was struck with remembrance of a poem: “Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me…” by Emily Dickenson. This sentiment was made manifest in every scene. Also that the leading cause of death – is life. This was no morbid contemplation of ending, but rather a celebration of living! Rios had stated that by having a dialogue about these scenarios, one is enabled to address and comprehend the how and why they happen. It is then that solutions can be found for whatever is in our power. Death is certain, Death is ever-present but fear of Death does not have to follow. A life fully lived is what we hope for and attempt. From the program notes: “Mexican lore says that ‘we experience death three times; one when we leave our body, two when our spirit leaves the earth, three when we are forgotten by our loved ones’.” Del Día De Los Muertos ensures that the third death never happens. Let it be so.
The dancers: Mimi Rios, Vanessa Benitez, Deja Hunter, Celeste Quintana, Alejandra Huerta, Jesus Norianueva, Andrew Romero, Alejandro Ramirez, Ashleen Padilla, Ava de la Torre and the fabulous Andrew Ortiz who rocked the La Catrina character all through the show. His rhythms set the pace of the show, and his footwork was very satisfying which could not have been easy in his heavy costume of skirts, bodice, feather boa, huge hat and a total mask covering his face. The costumes by Frank Sandoval and Gisel Olmedo were fantastic with great color and detail. The Ofrenda/Altar made by Christie Rios, Gisel Olmedo, Celeste Quintana, Andy Romero and Andrew Ortiz was another piece of sculptural art drawing our attention and a lovely call out to those not able to be present. Choreography by Christie Rios and Gema Sandoval was captivating utilizing different styles for the different scenes. From a machete sequence to modern, all movement was well matched to the story.
The evening was a lovely and magical tribute to life and the fact that someday it would end for all of us. Remembering those we love and have gone before us is a beautiful and natural human response to the unknown twists and turns that life throws our way. Our paths cannot be known to us until we take them and that seems like the whole point. Christie Rios and her Floricanto Dance Theatre are on the right path.
For more information about Danza Floricanto, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Fiesta del dia de los Muertos – Jesus Norianueva and Andrew Ortiz in You Must Die – Photo by Elvia Nava.
