By Sadie Shields 

Colorful skirts swept across the stage, live mariachi filled the auditorium and traditional dances from all across Latin America reflected both history, celebration and identity.

The festival began to the sound of the Hueso Coyoleras, also known as Aztec dancer foot rattles, filling the quiet room. The Aztec dancers walked from the entrance to the stage to begin the show, as the festivities of Fiesta Folklorica began.

From showing revolutionary imagery, to celebration, to love, the Fiesta Folklorica show was created to represent the culture behind Latin America and give the Latin community a voice at Cal Poly Humboldt, a Hispanic-serving institution.

Hosted at the Van Duzer Theater on campus, the event brought together student performers, musicians and community members for three nights that honored heritage through movement, music and storytelling. Dance groups representing different regions performed throughout the evening, each piece telling a story through costume, rhythm and expression. 

For many performers, the event represented months — and sometimes years — of preparation. Luna Salinas, a junior music education major, described their journey into Danza.

“I’ve been dancing for two years in Danza Azteca,” Salinas said. “I was doing it in the class first and then I got introduced to this whole production.”

Carlos Jaimes Gaytan, a senior in wildlife conservation and management has also been in Danza Azteca for a year.

“I was introduced to the club by Keneti Pinones and Naeem Alston to their Danza Azteca club with yolotl,” Gaytan said. “It’s been an amazing journey and I love every bit of it.”

Beyond performance, Cesar Nuñez, a senior music major and musician, emphasized the deeper meaning behind the event — especially in a small Northern California community.

“It’s important to hold this type of event in Arcata because it gives us Latinos a voice, and it shows a community,“Nuñez said. “Our culture and how we have fun, how we like to party,  it kind of shows the world that we’re not scared. We’re here, and we’re loud and proud about it all.” 

The evening included moments of celebration and cultural pride, with audience members cheering and performers sharing their passion for dance and its importance to their culture. 

“I think [Fiesta Folklorica is] important because they want us to feel shame, but I am not [ashamed] about my culture. Through this experience of dancing and singing our heritage, I have adopted so much pride in the process,” Salinas said. “We’re not going anywhere. And if you just leaned into it, you would find the life and love within it.” 

Sharing the same sentiment, senior biology major Gala Villavicencio has cultural and personal connections to Danza as well.

“Danza Azteca specifically has so many layers to it. It has deep roots that we’re blessed to spread,” Villavicencio said. “I just know that it connects back to my family, and even though I carry them with me, they haven’t had that opportunity to learn about Danza Azteca. And here I am out in Humboldt, learning, educating and doing my best to make them proud.”

Before leaving, Jaime Gatan shared how he wants to let his culture be more known.

“I want to show, I want to educate, I want my culture to be known, in that it shows other people that [you] too can do things like this wherever you go, however small or little, however big or small,.” Gatan said.“ You are a representative in the area. And we’re doing a really good job here representing our culture and trying our best to educate other people about it.”

Director Jacqueline Silva, professor and the director of Fiesta Folklorica, explained how the performances represent the stories of the Latin culture.

“Our dances tell stories which can represent historical events, courtship, animals native to the land and much more. La Revolución is an homage to Las Adelitas [female soldiers] of the Mexican Revolution,” Silva said. “They were such an integral part of war and unfortunately, were not giving the recognition they deserved. Now many groups honor their heroic actions on stage and we felt it was important to share this with our community.”

Through music, dance and community, Fiesta Folklorica served as both a celebration and a reminder that culture continues to live and grow. Wherever people choose to carry, they will not be silenced. 

Sadie is a junior communications major, journalism minor at Cal Poly Humboldt who has an interest in covering and taking photos for sports and wildlife journalism, and a slight interest in breaking news. She can be reached at sls331@humboldt.edu.