- Music and Dance Festival From the Heart of Mexico Features Favorite Mexican Artists and Performers - From the very heart of Mexico, both geographically and emotionally, comes an exciting new performance special celebrating the vast diversity of Mexico's music, dance and people. Singer Vikki Carr hosts FIESTA MEXICANA, sharing personal memories of her Mexican heritage while introducing some of the nation's most popular performers to new audiences north of the border. The program airs as part of the June 2008 pledge drive (check local listings) on PBS.
Recorded in the lovely colonial cities of Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, FIESTA MEXICANA is a showcase for music from all over Mexico -- from Chihuahua on the northern border to Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico, from Sinaloa on the west coast to Chiapas in the southeast. Song settings include sunny plazas, hacienda gardens and winding 17th-century streets, interspersed with performances onstage in Guanajuato's Teatro Juarez, one of the most beautiful opera houses in Mexico.
Every true Mexican celebration must include a mariachi band, and one of North America's finest mariachi groups gets the party going. Nati Cano's Mariachi Los Camperos opens the program with "Que Bonita Es Mi Tierra" ("How Beautiful Is My Country"). Other musicians include Tlen-Huicani of Veracruz, authentic interpreters of Mexico's traditional folk music, and the Guanajuato State Symphony Orchestra. Also making an appearance is the Estudiantina of the University of Guanajuato, college students dressed as medieval troubadours who stroll through Guanajuato each evening literally "singing for their supper." They perform the hugely popular "Si Nos Dejan," with the theater audience singing along.
And what would a Mexican fiesta be without dancing? The Ballet Folklorico de Guanajuato performs traditional dances dressed in a glorious rainbow of regional costumes. Their performances illustrate the stories behind the music, whether they're re-enacting a young woman's coming-of-age quinceanera with an elegant waltz, joyfully stamping out the familiar Jarabe Tapatio (Mexican hat dance) or saluting the gallant women who fought beside their men during the Mexican Revolution in "Jesusita de Chihuahua."
The program's featured artists are Eugenia Leon and Alberto "El Cuervo" Angel, among the most popular performers in Mexico today, though with distinctly different musical styles. Leon, a singer of captivating sophistication, performs the popular bolero "Piel Canela" ("Cinnamon Skin") and the heart-tugging "Cucurrucucu Paloma." Angel, in a broad sombrero and flamboyant mustache, projects a macho bravado with "El Sinaloense" ("The Man From Sinaloa") as he entertains customers in a tequila bar. Vikki Carr (born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona in El Paso, Texas) had a successful singing career in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s. When musical tastes changed with the disco era, she returned to her Mexican roots, becoming one of Mexico's favorite artists over the next few decades. She delights the audience in the Teatro Juarez when she takes the stage to perform two of her signature songs, "Ni Princesa Ni Esclava" ("Neither a Princess Nor a Slave") and "Somos Novios," better known to English listeners as "It's Impossible."
From the geographical center of Mexico in the state of Guanajuato, FIESTA MEXICANA reaches out to embrace the entire continent of North America with the spirit, the passion and, above all, the music of this diverse and magical land. Songs include:
* "Que Bonita Es Mi Tierra"
* "Sobre Las Olas"
* "El Enamorado"
* "Palomo y Paloma"
* "Las Mananitas"
* "El Rey"
* "Las Golondrinas"
* "Si Nos Dejan"
* "Granada"
* "Piel Canela"
* "Ni Princesa Ni Esclava"
* "La Cucaracha"
* "Somos Novios"
* "Mexico Lindo y Querido"
Underwriters: Public Television Viewers and PBS.
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