BISD presents Fiesta Folklorica
Sophia Medina had just enjoyed a fabulous experience Monday night dancing at the Fiesta Folklorica.
"I liked it because it was pretty fun," said Medina, 9, who had just performed "El Gallito" with her dance group from El Jardin Elementary School. El Jardin was one of nine schools in the Brownsville Independent School District that participated in the event at Sams Stadium as part of Charro Days 2012. About 4,000 people filled the stands and cheered them on.
Rebecca Rendon, BISD’s administrator for fine arts, said the district invites different schools each year to perform in the parade because there are too many to have them all at once.
"We try to represent as many regions of Mexico as we can," Rendon said.
Students from Gallegos Elementary performed "El Revolcadero" from Durango. Young girls in bright pink dresses and yellow ribbons faced boys in black who twirled their partners and then stepped back for a moment. Then they grasped their hands and whirled in perfect unison to the accordion music frolicking across the field.
There was an explosion of color as students from Victoria Heights performed a dance from Guerrero called "Las Amarillas." Young girls, their hair decorated in bright ribbons, held out the hems of their yellow dresses and danced with partners in white hats and red bandanas while a high-pitched tenor voice accompanied by hot guitar music ripped across the field.
Cromack Elementary delivered a dance called "Sonora Bronco" from the state of Sonora, with boys in black and white cowboy outfits galloping about while the girls in pink dresses with white tops swung sharply in a circle. They stopped in a V shape and bowed, then took partners and moved forward together amid searing accordion riffs.
Preparing for the night’s performance took many long hours of practice. The children from Victoria Heights had been practicing since October, and it was a challenge.
"We had to count," said Nadia Sifuentes, an 11-year-old fifth-grader. "If you count wrong, everything it messes up." She wore a white top with red embroidered flowers and gold hoop earrings and gave a thumbs up about the experience.
Medina, a third-grader, said she hoped to dance with her school again.
"I like to dance," said Medina, jeweled earrings dangling about her neck. "I want to dance so I can show my mom that I can dance the way she wants me to do it for El Jardin."
Drue Brown, spokeswoman for BISD, said the Fiesta Folklorica has been an annual Charro Days event for many years, and many of the parents in the stands had also danced in the event when they were children.
