In living color: Vibrance hallmark of Ballet Nepantla’s Mexican American-inspired dance

SAN BENITO — With early voting in full swing for one of the most anticipated presidential elections in recent years, and political signs all around, it would be easy to confuse the line of people waiting outside the San Benito Cultural Heritage Museum for eager voters given their proximity to the polling site here at the community building.

On Tuesday evening, these individuals were lined up for the rare opportunity to watch a world-class performance by a New York City-based dance company, Ballet Nepantla, in their hometown museum. The show followed a performance Monday evening at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg.

Tuesday’s show at the museum came together within two weeks due to the efforts of Aleida Garcia, the city of San Benito Cultural Arts director.

“They have roots here in the Valley, so we’re really excited to showcase their work here in San Benito, here in the Valley,” Garcia said.

Garcia greeted attendees as they entered through the museum doors. Not long after the doors opened at 6:30 p.m., every seat in the museum space was filled. A makeshift stage stood toward the back of the room with black sheets separating the view of the crowd from the backstage area.

“It’s not the optimal but I think that it really shows the spirit and the dedication that we have to showcase, you know the voices of our area, of our region,” Garcia said. “I’m pretty excited.”

The lights dimmed, and the show began with a solo performance called “Nepantla” while a reading of Gloria Anzaldúa’s poem, “To Live in the Borderlands,” played over the speakers.

The show, titled “Mistica,” is a show inspired by Dia de los Muertos. Andrea Guajardo, who founded Ballet Nepantla and is the company’s artistic director, described Mistica as a celebration of those who have died.

Mistica is one of four shows performed by Ballet Nepantla, which has made a name for itself with its unique blend of traditional folklorico and contemporary ballet.

“‘Nepantla’ is ​​an Aztec term, specifically from the Nahuatl dialect, and it translates to ‘an in-betweenness, an in-between space,” Guajardo explained. “It can be metaphorically, physically, mentally, culturally, and growing up along the Texas-Mexican border as a very tall, very white Mexican American who didn’t speak Spanish, I always found myself to never be quite Mexican enough.

“​​Actually, my whole upbringing, I kind of pushed that part of who I was aside, that part of my identity.”

She said that after moving to New York City at the age of 17 to study dance at the Ailey School, she began to grow interested in her roots. After graduating from the Ailey School & Fordham University with a degree in dance, she founded Ballet Nepantla as a way to bridge the gap between her identities as a Mexican American.

“Nepantla is a word that just fit so perfectly because I think it’s a state that’s not just relevant to me, but to so many people, so many first and second generation Mexican Americans, and immigrants in general, not being from here nor there.”

The inspiration for the Mistica came about during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a very sad time, and creating Mistica was a way to bring something positive and uplifting and celebratory even, as a way to to honor all those who we lost,” Guajardo said. “I think that it’s a show that people come to see because they’re excited to be uplifted and to celebrate those lives.”

“It’s not a sad show,” she said. “It’s a very happy show, and joyous.”

The show starts in the world of the living, giving a portrayal of grief and loss, and telling the story of La Llorona through dance. The second half of the show is set in the world of the dead. Those scenes are performed with the lights off and blacklights, illuminating the neon colors worn by the performers.

“Act two is super upbeat, super joyous and celebratory,” Guajardo said. “It is for the purpose of uplifting the audience and letting them know that those who have passed are celebrating in the afterlife, celebrating the beautiful life that they lived and that they lived amongst us.”

The show was a homecoming of sorts for some of the 13 dancers, as well as Guajardo who was born and raised in Edinburg. The show features Guadalupe Garza from Edinburg, Erick Perales from Alamo, and Belleza Mitchell from San Antonio.

“It’s always going to be home,” Perales said. “Just being a Texas boy, coming from immigrant parents, and having reached this milestone, and sharing that all with my other people and my family, it’s just showing them that it’s possible.”

Mitchell said that she briefly danced folklorico when she was a child, but focused more on ballet as she grew older. It was her mother, a fan of Ballet Nepantla, who inspired her to audition for the dance company.

“She had a shirt before I was in the company,” Mitchell said.

“It’s really inspiring,” she said. Even like being from San Antonio, which is a ways away, it definitely also feels like coming home.”

When the show finished and the dancers took their final bow, the crowd gave the performers a standing ovation. Following a brief Q&A with Guajardo, the stage was quickly disassembled as the dancers gathered their gear and began preparing for the next leg of their tour which takes them to Mexico and California.

Among those helping with the stage was Francisco Guajardo, chief executive officer for the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg and father of Ballet Nepantla’s founder.

“I feel great because the show is helping people reflect on who they are in a very, very high quality way,” he said as he rolled the dance floor mats. “For me, I mean, it’s a little bit emotional, but it’s mostly affirming. It’s affirming because people respond the way they do. They responded in ways that are substantive in kind of like deep ways.

“This is not just some kind of show. This is a show that has stories that are meaningful, that help people kind of reflect on their own lives or their culture and their histories. What Andrea is doing, she has taken dance toward the public education arena because she’s actually helping to educate people by helping them reflect.”

To see more, view staff photographer Miguel Roberts’ full photo gallery here:

Photo Gallery: Vibrance hallmark of Ballet Nepantla’s Mexican American-inspired dance