December 25, 2004
A Celebration of Souls: Day of the Dead in Southern Mexico has been the
Museum’s most popular Focus Gallery exhibit to date. We have had many
first time visitors, as well as several groups of high school students
here as part of classroom assignments.
Our Day of the Dead events,
from storytelling concerts by Olga Loya to a lecture on the holiday’s
origins by Dr. Gary Feinman of The Field Museum, brought in both old
friends and new. Our final exhibit-related event, A Latin American
Celebration, was also a great success, and much of this is due to
wonderful performances by Dance 2XS Caliente. |
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| The women perform El Mapale from Colombia. |
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Performing La Morena (the woman with dark features)
from Veracruz |
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Dance 2XS Caliente performed two dance demonstrations during the Celebration. The first
highlighted more traditional dances, including Jarabe Mixteco, La
Morena, and La Plena. The second demonstration featured the Mambo, Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, and Merengue. The energy and enthusiasm shown by the dancers made us all want to get up and dance to the beat.
This event was
sponsored in part by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. A Celebration of Souls: Day of the Dead in Southern Mexico was developed by The Field Museum in collaboration with Mars, Incorporated.
Related News Story: Day of the Dead Exhibit
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