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The dancers of Esperanza del Valle are returning to El Teatro Campesino on Sept. 26 to begin a series of three performances of “Espiritu de Mexico,” the company’s 45th anniversary showcase of traditional and regional folklórico dances from six regions of Mexico.
It’s the group’s first performance at El Teatro since 2019 and will feature Maestro Daniel Del Valle Hernandez of the Ballet Folklórico del Puerto de Veracruz.
According to Teatro production manager David Alvarez, this event has been a long time coming and, for him, it feels like having a family member return home.
“Just having that energy and vibrancy back in this space is an honor,” he said. “After 45 years, they still can find the heart of what El Teatro Campesino brings to the community and bring it back to our circle.”
Founded in Watsonville in 1980 by Janet Johns and Frances Urbina, Esperanza was initially conceived as a means to support educators in the Pajaro Valley who sought to learn dances they could teach to their students.
As the lessons went on, Johns said, it became apparent to her that everyone who was there to learn was also becoming eager to perform. She invited Maestro Ramón Morones, founder of Los Lupeños de San José, to help develop the company. He was the first of many dance masters she would work with.
Johns’ first performance with El Teatro was as a dancer in the 1986 production of “La Virgen de Tepeyac,” one of two biennial Christmastime pageants. The following year, she was asked to choreograph the second play in the series, La Pastorela, and, along with the rest of the company, has been involved every year since.
Johns said this exposure to theatrical productions and to different artistic directors has helped the company grow in ways it might not have if it were purely dance-focused.
“A lot of our dancers love participating because they get to do some acting, too,” she said. “And it is a real reciprocal relationship that’s been formed, where I can count on everyone at El Teatro, and they can count on us.”
The current production features Hernandez, who Johns has known since 1991, along with a group of dancers from his Ballet Folklórico del Puerto de Veracruz. Besides performing in the show, Hernandez helped with the choreography of some of the six regional dances featured in the production.
According to Johns, the program will begin with dances from the indigenous Totonaca community of Mecatlán, in the state of Veracruz, which employ simple, everyday clothes or “vestarios” worn by people in the region.
“I believe we were the first company in the United States ever to use these ‘vestarios,’” she said. “We took classes in Veracruz to learn the dance, and they are really quite lovely, with lots of energy.”
The second Mexican region represented is Guerrero, with dances known as “Sones de Tarima” or “Sounds of the Stage.” Johns said the dance is traditionally staged on a small platform, known as a “tarima,” with the dancers imitating the movements of animals such as bulls, vultures, doves and iguanas.
The third region is the port city of Veracruz, which Johns said is known for its blend of Indigenous, European and African cultures.
“One of the dances that everybody knows,” she said, “is ‘La Bamba,’ which originated in that region. You hear the African rhythms, you see the beautiful indigenous embroideries, and you hear the stringed instruments which came in from Europe.”
Following an intermission, the company will perform “Danzón,” a traditional Cuban dance. Johns describes the style as “a kind of ballroom dance: very elegant with rhythms that are very different than anything else we’re presenting.”
The fifth part of the program will be three dances from the west-central Mexican state of Nayarit. Maestro Ramón Morones Ortiz, an early collaborator with Esperanza, created the suite, which Johns said is renowned for its difficulty and spectacle.
“It features men dancing with bottles on their heads,’ Johns said, “along with women balancing glasses, rapid skirt movements, and men performing with machetes. It is one of our signature pieces, which we have performed many times.”
The finale is a “choreo-drama,” a choreographed interpretation of a traditional Mexican ballad, or “corrido” from Jalisco titled “Los Hermanos.”
“It is the story of two brothers who are fighting over the same woman,” Johns said. “And by the end, there is a dramatic ending where they would typically kill each other. But with Esperanza, we like to put a little twist on it.”
Johns credits the wide range of dancing masters that the company has collaborated with over the years as key to the authenticity of the performances. Johns said this ensures that the company continues to grow artistically while staying true to the dances’ cultural roots.
“You have the keeper of the tradition,” she said, “So you’re learning from the best: the correct style, the correct choreography, the correct movement, the correct partner relationship, and the authentic, beautiful outfits.”
San Juan will be the second performance of this dance program. It was first staged in April at Cabrillo College in Aptos. For Johns, there is a particular significance this time, as this 45th Anniversary show coincides with El Teatro Campesino’s upcoming 60th Anniversary in November.
“It is so wonderful to be back,” she said. “It has been very accommodating and comfortable. I call it our homecoming performance and everybody’s greeted us with abrazos, open arms.”
Esperanza del Valle’s “Espiritu de Mexico” will be performed Sept. 26-29 at the El Teatro Campesino playhouse, 705 4th St., San Juan Bautista. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. For more information, visit Esperanza’s website or their Facebook or Instagram pages.
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