Cedar Rapids’ ballet folklorico group to showcase Mexican culture in Cinco de Mayo performance

CEDAR RAPIDS — The city’s first folklorico group, Fuerzas Culturales, will showcase Mexican history through dance to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this week.

The historic youth dance group invites the community to attend a performance at 6 p.m. Friday at CSPS Hall, 1103 Third St. SE. The event will be held on Cinco de Mayo, which marks the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.

Tickets are $13 on presale online at cspshall.org/events or $15 at the door. Doors open at 5 p.m. Mexican food will be available for purchase at the event.

Fuerzas Culturales, which formed last year, and took the stage for the first time last September at the annual Festival Latino. The group’s name looks to capture the strength its members see in their cultures, as they have Mexican and Central American roots.

  Buy Photo

Since then, the group has done a number of performances and has kept practicing, said Miguel Burgos, who is slated to become a board member of Fuerzas Culturales as it transitions to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The group has been practicing at CSPS Hall as well as other locations, Burgos said, but it’s been a challenge to secure a permanent space.

After Festival Latino, the group accepted more students and is now made up of about 25 or so youth, with interest continuing to grow, Burgos said. The youngest kids — starting around age 5 — practice one day a week, and older youth ages 16 and over practice another day.

Together, they hope to showcase their heritage and some history of Mexico. He said the youth will perform folklorico dances from different Mexico states, so it’s not just one region represented.

“We want to showcase a little bit of the history, the culture of Mexico by presenting the dance of different states,” Burgos said.

Youth are assigned different dances depending on their skill level, he said. These will be new dances that they’ve never performed for the community before.

Oftentimes, Burgos said people are under the impression that Cinco de Mayo is like Mexico’s Independence Day celebrated like the United States does on the Fourth of July. Cinco de Mayo commemorates Mexico’s winning battle against the French that had the strongest navy at the time despite having less powerful weapons and fewer people. An instructor will offer insight into this history, Burgos said.

Fuerzas Culturales members hope the community learns more about other Hispanic cultures from the event, he said.

“Hispanic culture’s been growing a lot in Cedar Rapids,” Burgos said. “I’ve been here since 1996. When I moved here, there were hardly any Hispanics in the area and now we see a lot more.”

Funds raised from the event will help Fuerzas Culturales raise money to pay for rented space, costumes and other items the youth need for future performances, so everyone is invited to come and support the group, he said.

“When we don’t know something, we might be afraid of it,” Burgos said. “With kids performing … people might learn more about other cultures. It’s a great way for kids to learn about their own culture and their heritage.”

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com