CANCELLED: Son Luna y Jóvenes Zapateadores
Sat, April 18, 7PM, 2020
A Community Celebration of Global Cultural Exchange and Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary TICKETS HERE
This event is a part of Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary Kick Off Celebration presented by Methow Valley Citizen’s Council and Methow Arts Alliance in collaboration with many community partners. CLICK HERE for information about other Earth Day activities throughout the Valley.
¡VÍvelo!” will be performed at The Winthrop Barn on Sat, Apr 18, 7pm.
The music and dance ensemble Son Luna y Jóvenes Zapateadores grew from the sounds and rhythm of Veracruz, Mexico — the birthplace of the traditional musical style Son Jarocho.
As a part of the Methow Arts series, the company will make its Washington State debut with its show ”¡VÍvelo!” at the Barn.
Artists will arrive earlier in the week to visit and perform for students six school districts in Okanogan County through Methow Arts Education Programs, ACCESS Arts.
The performance focused on Mexican culture and is “specifically taking the time to look at Mexico as a place of great contemporary performance.”
″¡VÍvelo!” highlights Son Jarocho, which is a musical blend of Spanish, African and Indigenous styles. It’s created through instruments like two types of guitars, the jarana and requinto, along with a cajón and quijada used for percussion. The dances of ”¡VÍvelo!” combine influences of Spanish, folk and contemporary styles with African movements like in traditional Son Jarocho fashion. The movements of the dancers help contribute to the music and rhythm through their style of tap shoe.
Methow Arts invites its audience members to think about our international cultural exchange through this performance, and the themes of commonality, curiosity, and exchange that takes place when we come together to share our common culture.
Son Luna y Jóvenes Zapateadores is the creation of the choreographer, artistic and musical director Ernesto Luna RamÍrez. The group’s musical section, Son Luna, formed 29 years ago, and more than a decade later, started performing with RamÍrez’s second creation, Jóvenes Zapateadores, the dance company. The ensemble will tour with 12 members in the United States, and in Mexico a 25 artists which includes a 13-year-old performer.
The group has been recognized with numerous awards and associations like the National System of Art Creators in Mexico.
Ramirez has worked professionally as a performer for the past 35 years and as the academic director at the Instituto Educacional de la Danza Nandehui, a dance school in Xalapa, Mexico. Growing up in Veracruz, RamÍrez was surrounded by the music and dance of Son Jarocho. His mother was a dancer and his father was a musician which led him to start performing the music at a young age.
″¡VÍvelo!” means “to live it” and the show is a walk through tradition and experience, that takes you from Spanish flamenco to Son Jarocho, said RamÍrez in a phone interview translated by the group’s U.S. tour manager, Peter Hay.
RamÍrez said he tells the audience to “live in this moment with me.”
Veracruz is home to a port on the Gulf of Mexico that helped create, spread and evolve Son Jaracho over centuries of exchanges. “When we see the Sevillanas dancing from Spain, we see a Fandango Jarocho (a Jarocho party dance), it’s exactly the same but translated by Mexico,” RamÍrez said.
Eight dancers and four musicians will be performing with RamÍrez as he joins the show by dancing and playing multiple instruments. He said he loves the moments where you see the mixture of cultures from different parts of Mexico coming together. RamÍrez also is excited to share new places with the young performers and see the interactions with the audience.
This U.S. tour will take the company through Florida, California and Washington, with support from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Southern Exposure; Performing Arts of Latina America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“It’s an extraordinary folkloric experience. The group travels with very intensive group dance work and they have stunning colorful costumes,” says Amanda Jackson Mott, executive director of Methow Arts. Ramirez “incorporates contemporary dance, movement language and twists on music as a way of making it relevant for young artists. It’s a meeting of the traditions and contemporary relevance.”
Masterfully displaying dance genres from the region and beyond, this large scale production is ideal for an audience seeking a highly energetic folkloric piece. Jóvenes Zapateadores has received national recognition and awards such as EPRODANZA 2014, SNCA 2016 (National System Creators of Art), and has toured across Europe and South and North America.
DATE: Sat, Apr 18, 7pm. TICKETS: Kids/$5 (6yrs-17yrs), Reserved seats in first five rows/$25, Gen admin Adult/$12 (18yrs+). At Methow Arts, Riverside Printing in Winthrop, online: TICKETS HERE LOCATION: Winthrop RED Barn, 51 East 20 Hwy, Winthrop, WA. info@methowartsalliance.org
Volunteers get in Free! Contact us to sign up ashley@methowartsalliance.org