It was a wise move when the Guadalupe Center of Kansas City added plenty of indoor space — including a 250-seat auditorium — when it renovated the historic center for Hispanic culture 10 years ago.
On a brisk, damp Saturday that forced the postponement of the Cinco de Mayo parade and celebration in Kansas City, Kan., the fiesta went on as planned at the Guadalupe Center at 1015 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez, although the street carnival had to be delayed until today.
The young dancers of the Ballet Folklorico Atotonilco moved inside, just as the planned outdoor concert and dance had done the previous night.
“We knew there would be days when the weather would be inclement when we built this building,” said Guadalupe Center CEO Cris Medina.
It would have been a challenge for Alejandra Rojas and the other Atotonilco dancers to perform on the puddled tarp outside in the plaza. The 20-year-old college student wore a traditional huapango dress, and the hem of the long, flowing white skirt surely would have gotten soaked. Young women in Veracruz wear the dress and its shawl, decorated with colorful tassels, as a symbol of purity.
“They walk with fans, and the guys know the women are not taken yet,” explained Rojas, who began dancing at age 3. She and other performers practiced three times each week for the past three months for the fiesta.
Some hardy people listened outside to the Mariachi Aguila, a six-member band performing with traditional stringed instruments, trumpets and an accordion. Among them were the mother and cousins of 14-year-old Antonio Reyes, a self-taught guitarrón player. His father and grandfather also played.
“It’s a little chilly, but we can’t stop coming to Cinco de Mayo,” said Stephanie Reyes, the boy’s mother.
She was among about 50 people huddled beneath a tent under a raw gray sky and wearing sweatshirts and coats to ward off temperatures in the 40s. A few nursed cold beers — a far cry from a year ago, when temperatures reached nearly 90 degrees and cold beverages were in hot demand.
One brave couple took the dance floor briefly, she in a heavy winter coat and he in a sports jacket with cowboy hat and string tie.
“I used to dance in the fiesta years ago,” explained Patricia Borjas. “We were trying to warm up.”
The fiesta continues today at the Guadalupe Center with Mariachi Mass at noon, and a menudo and burrito breakfast from 8 a.m. until noon at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine Hall, 907 Avenida Cesar Chavez. Music and performances resume at noon.
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