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Aztec concert and fashion show benefit
Wed, Apr 11, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
150 pesos
Aztec fashion show benefit, April 5, 2007
That’s right! An ancient Aztec fashion show. The Aztecs who ruled central Mexico at the time of the arrival of the Spanish probably never staged a fashion show. But if we were curious about what the Aztecs wore, attending an Aztec fashion show might be a good way to learn something about it. The Aztecs had a kind of “dress code.” You could tell a person’s status in the society by what they wore. Several illustrated post-conquest books made by Aztecs reveal to us how the people attired themselves. These books are the basis of this “Aztec Fashion Show” to be presented at Teatro Santa Ana. Research for the show was done by Professor Guillermo Mendez, Biblioteca lecturer on the ancient cultures of Mesoamerica.
The show begins with the common person’s attire, both male and female. For the men this consisted of a loincloth and mantel; the women wore a huipil and skirt. Two warriors in battle garb follow: one in a jaguar outfit, the other wearing the traditional cotton quilt “armor” which could stop an arrow. A judge and noble woman are next, followed by an Aztec priest—who never had a “bad hair day” because subsequent to becoming priests they never cut, washed or combed their hair. The sacred is, of course, followed by the profane. A “courtesan” follows the priest. Two military “comandantes” conclude the show which also has a continuous narration by Professor Méndez, live pre-Hispanic music, and digital big screen images—all adding up to a kind of ancient Aztec concert/fashion show spectacular. Great efforts have been made to achieve authenticity and it is probably the first time anything like this has been attempted in México, or for that matter, anywhere else in the world.
All of this is to benefit the Biblioteca’s workshop in “Pre-Hispanic Music for Young People.” This program invites Mexican children to learn how to play the musical instruments of their ancestors. The proceeds of this benefit are used to fund the program which, like all Biblioteca programs, is offered to Mexican children free of charge. Tickets are on sale at the theatre box office.
Belly dance performance
“Raks Alam: The Dance of the Universe”
Sat, Apr 14, 7:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
100 pesos
Raks Alam: The Dance of the Universe
By Julieta Sanchez
We all experience it, consciously or otherwise. We are all dancing from light to darkness, from inertness to chaos, from day to night, from joy to sorrow, from birth to death and back again. We dance alone and with others. When we become conscious of it we may want to do it more gracefully. We might even remember that life is not about getting to the end as fast as we can but putting our attention to the fragments that compound it so that our dance is fulfilling, bountiful and leaves behind it the fragrance of beauty.
Raks Alam is also an Arabian dance group formed by dancers from different parts of the country joined together under the umbrella of the Raks Alam academy established by choreographer, teacher and one of Mexico’s most acclaimed dancers: Ricardo Campos Diaz, Al Rachid. Its purpose is to share the fullness of life through the rich palette of Arabic music, a place where love verses have a devotional connotation and one can nestle in the movements of the universe.
Tickets are on sale at the Teatro Santa Ana box office.
A Walk in the Woods
Wed & Thurs, Apr 11 & 12, 7:30pm
St. Paul’s Parish Hall
calle Cardo
10-peso donation
Let’s go for a walk in the woods
By Bobbie Bell
In Lee Blessing’s play A Walk in the Woods, two negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland, representing the Soviet Union and the United States decide one day to take a break from arms reduction talks and simply take a walk in the woods. In actual fact, this happened when Yuli Kvitsinsky, representing the USSR, and Paul Nitze, representing the US did just that. This spurred Blessing to imagine what these two men might talk about when away from the formal setting at the table where these talks were conducted. The play has been described as neither a polemic nor a cartoon, but an engrossing attempt to humanize a situation of great portentousness.
Why might a play like this be interesting to us today? Wars, whether “hot” ones such as Iraq or “cold” ones such as the arms race with the Soviets, eventually end with people doing what they didn’t do earlier—that is, as their countries’ representatives they ultimately sit down, look each other in the eye, and start talking. Blessing takes us inside that milieu and shows us the characteristics of those who do such work, and at the same time he shows us just how human they are and at what cost they do what they do.
Andry Botvinnik is a charming, worldly and glib Russian played by Jim Newell and John Honeyman is a passionately idealistic American played by Michael Gottlieb. Both Newell and Gottlieb were seen in A Man for all Seasons that was performed in San Miguel in February.
Lights and sound are handled by Paula Lopuch.
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