BY JOE ARCE AND JOSE FAUS at KC Hispanic News
In 1965, Rose Marie Mendez, a dancer and choreographer,
founded Rose Marie’s Fiesta Mexicana, a dance troupe designed to preserve the
dance traditions of her native Mexico.
Her dedication in teaching, promoting and preserving the
great dance traditions was the subject of a special presentation recently
hosted by the Ethnic Enrichment Commission.
The diplomatic ball brought together many of the
participants in the ethnic enrichment festival, the annual fall celebration of
the ethnic communities in the Kansas City area. This year’s host was Mexico.
The ball is an annual gala hosted by various cultural
representatives to showcase those countries. Mexico was this year’s host and
Mendez was selected by the Mexican Consulate to help coordinate the musical
program. The celebration coincided with Rose Marie’s Fiesta Mexicana Golden
Jubilee.
Mendez brought together collaborators, old and new,
including el Grupo Folklorico del Estado de Coahuila, Ballet Folklorico de
Topeka, and her own Fiesta Mexicana accompanied by Mariachi los Arrieros from
El Paso, Texas.
“It is not about me. I am the one that is here now … but we
had a lot of guidance in my family and in my life with my grandfather, who
spearheaded this and I was lucky to meet him when I was young,” recalled
Mendez. “And there is my mother who was a professional pianist. … We have
lasted fifty years in the community.
“We started Fiesta Mexicana many years ago in 1965 in a
church setting,” she added. “From there we grew to community centers, reaching
out to be able to keep the community alive. The fiestas were held in Shawnee
Park. Trying to do that that time was different. For example the music, since
there were no live musicians around we used 33 LPs and we had some wonderful
girls that were able to cue it right on the line.
“There are a lot of blessings here in the fact that the kids
and the families and the generations have sent me their children to be able to
come forward and work with us,” added Mendez. “We continue our training through
the National Association of Folkloric Arts. … We continue to grow. … Everybody
asks me if I am ready to throw in the towel and I say, ‘no, the Lord has given
me a time to work and he blessed me with training my legs and my feet to be
able to share the music.”
One of the presenters, Enrique Sanchez Reyna of el Grupo
Folklorico del Estado de Coahuila, talked about the importance of the
celebration and presentation.
“It is admirable to see these young people with Mexican
roots working and learning these dances of Mexican origin. … Here we have the
first seeds that will take seed and grow and go beyond just being here in
Kansas City. That is why it is important for us to work with the kids so that
those traditions continue,” said Reyna.
Juan Cabello began working with Mendez over 42 years ago and
now at 63, he is helping out with the celebration. He welcomes the opportunity.
The Folklorico Groupo de Coahuila is a nice blend of young and old, some of
them he danced with when he was younger.
“What we want more than anything is that the youth learn of
their culture, their traditions, new art forms. We [elders] have a lot to give.
… Here the kids will learn to comport themselves … but more importantly they
will learn the dances and what it means to present and interpret a song with
the hand movement and the expressions of their face. That is what we are trying
to do here,” He said.
“She deserves whatever recognition she gets,” he added.
“This is a person that has spent the better part of her life preserving and
teaching the ballet folklorico. She deserves whatever comes her way. She has
made a lot of sacrifices.”
Thirteen-year-old Lauren Ahumada was into Jujitsu,
volleyball and soccer when she was introduced to dancing by a friend four years
ago.
“I like it when we do our steps and choreography and when we
do the dances,” she told Hispanic News. “I love dancing, the performing and
going different places and learning new dances.”
She relished the opportunity to dance with the troupe from
Mexico but admitted, “It is really difficult because they were born and raised
in Mexico and they know how to dance over there and we are just learning that.
I feel lucky to have this opportunity because they are giving of their time to
come over here to Kansas City and to show us how to do the steps.”
Ashley Grijalva echoed Ahumada’s enthusiasm in working with
the visiting dance troupe. “Not many other students get the opportunity to get
taught by people that are born and raised in Mexico and who have more experience
than we do. … I tell my friends but they really don’t get the importance of
it.”
“Rosemarie is a great instructor, she explains clearly and
she is very patient with us. She also cares about us. It is not like having a
regular teacher, really it’s like family mostly, she said.”
Grijalva’s mother Claudia danced when she was a young girl
living in Mexico. She is happy that her daughter loves the form so much.
“It is a very nice way to bring our traditions to our
children. Even though they grow up with their American culture, they still have
the roots of their ancestors in how we lived in Mexico our experiences and our
Mexican culture.”
Claudia encourages people to get behind the dance groups and
embrace the cultural celebration of some very old and meaningful traditions,
“because the culture means a lot to the family and consequently they work hard
to make sure there is enough for them to invest in their children’s growth.”
She looks on Mendez as an important bridge to the traditions
and pointed out that the costuming that Mendez has accumulated over the years
is a huge asset. The family benefits from that inventory as they borrow the
costumes in order to help offset the cost of the lessons.
“She is a treasure and it is very important that we do as much
as we can to make the fifty year anniversary a success,” said Claudia. “It is
great that we are getting the support of the group that is here from Mexico.
Some of the instructors are friends of her from when she started to dance. And
the kids are learning from them.”
“If I get a chance to sit down and relax, it is the music
that carries me blissfully into a slumber mode, which satisfies me in my heart.
… I think we can keep going for a long time. Education for us never stops, “
said Mendez.
