¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! to present Yolotecuani through Oct. 23 in free concerts

yolotecuaniSANTA BARBARA — ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! presents the local premier of Yolotecuani, music and dance of Tixtla, from the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Yolotecuani offer free family concerts on Friday, October 21, 7 pm at Isla Vista School; on Saturday, October 22, 7 pm, at Guadalupe City Hall, and on Sunday, October 23, 7 pm, at The Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara. Yolotecuani will also make a guest appearance at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Día de Los Muertos celebration on Sunday, October 23, at 2 pm; and offer a chance to learn this distinctive tradition in a free workshop, co-presented with the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, on Thursday, October 20, 7 pm, at Casa de La Guerra.

The word “Yolotecuani” means “the heart of the tiger” in Nahautl, a group of languages spoken in central Mexico for centuries before the Spanish conquest and still spoken today by more than a million people. Founded in 1986, the group is led by a family of three: David Peñaloza, Isabel Coronel, and their son Osvaldo Peñaloza; joined by Ulises Martínez and César Martinez, as well as two dancers: Tamara Mazón and Gregorio Cortéz.

Yolotecuani’s sound features the harp, played by David Peñaloza, vihuelas, which are string instruments common in mariachi music, and cajon, the popular box drum that has migrated throughout Latin America from Peru. As in much of Mexico, dancers contribute to this Guerrerense music with rhythmical combinations on the tarima, a wooden box or dance floor. Yolotecuani’ s performance is based on study and practice of fandango traditions of Tixtla in central Guerrero – music and dance for social occasions that include weddings, baptisms, birthdays and other family or neighborhood celebration. The lyrics often talk of nature and animals with titles like The Iguana, The Little Vulture, or The Owl; and the dances playfully mimic the moves and gestures of the animal subjects.

For centuries and up until the development of mechanized transport in post-revolutionary Mexico, arrieros, muleteers in English, were common, leading teams of pack animals over rugged landscapes. In Guerrero state, the arrieros brought music to Tixtla from the Costa Chica which is shared with the state of Oaxaca, and the Tierra Caliente in Michoacán. Some of the music from Tixtla even has roots in Chile, having arrived by sea with sailors who came to the coast of Guerrero in the 19th century on their way to the California Gold Rush.

The members of Yolotecuani have performed widely in Mexico with visits to Chicago and Lincoln Center in New York. They have four recordings and have participated in four anthologies. Yolotecuani has participated in projects with Lila Downs, Horacio Franco, and Jordi Savall with Hesperion XXI.

¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is sponsored by SAGE Publications, The Roddick Foundation, Anonymous, Elva & Byron Siliezar, Wells Fargo, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, UCSB Office of Education Partnerships, The Stone Family Foundation, the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission Community Arts Grant Program, with funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission. Additional support comes from The Marjorie Luke Theatre’s Dreier Family Rent Subsidy Fund. The program is supported in part by the Santa Barbara Independent, the Santa Maria SUN, El Latino CC, Radio Bronco, Univision, the Best Western South Coast Inn, the Hampton Inn, and Pacifica Suites. Viva is co-presented by The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts & Education Center, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center and UCSB Arts and Lectures, in partnership with the Isla Vista School After School Grant.

DETAILS:

  • Five musicians and two dancers representing the traditional music and dance of Guerrero, Mexico
  • Free family concerts in accessible venues
  • Friday, October 21, 2016, 7:00 pm, Free Family Concert at Isla Vista School, 6875 El Colegio Road, Isla Vista, Information (805) 252-3493
  • Saturday, October 22, 2016, 7:00 pm, Free Family Concert at Guadalupe City Hall, 918 Obispo Street, Guadalupe, Information (805) 343-2455
  • Sunday, October 23, 2016, 2:00 pm, Día de Los Muertos celebration, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State Street
  • Sunday, October 23, 2016, 7:00 pm, Free Family Concert at The Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High, Santa Barbara (805) 884-4087 x7
  • Meet the artists at post-show receptions after each concert
  • Free workshop in music and dance on Thursday, October 20, 7 pm, at Casa de La Guerra, 15 E. De La Guerra Street, Santa Barbara; co-presented with the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
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