Danza Floricanto/USA
Mexican folklorico dance
Danza Floricanto/USA, founded in 1975, is the oldest existing professional Mexican folk dance troupe in Southern California. Its mission is to preserve the Mexican culture and validate it as a cultural expression of the Latino people in the American Southwest; to create awareness for it through the medium of music and dance; and to explore ways in which it can connect with mainstream American culture. Floricanto does this by touring full concert presentations throughout the United States; conducting workshops, lecture demonstrations, educational assemblies and residencies; seeking partnerships with like organizations of other ethnicities and art forms; and providing after school alternatives through Mexican folk dance for the youth in our immediate community.
In 2014, Danza Floricanto/USA received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to support a partnership with master son jarocho musican Cesar Castro. Although Danza Floricanto/USA has more than 10 years of experience in the dance portion of son jarocho’s fandango (interactive community dance) tradition, they will now work with Cesar to learn how to sing, and ultimately improvise within, the song portion of the son jarocho tradition.
As participants of ACTA’s Traditional Arts Development Proram in 2007, Danza Floricanto/USA was mentored in Veracruz son jarocho folk dance by master dancer Cesar Castro. His mentorship consisted of rehearsals with the dances where he played his jarana, requinto, or leona while dancers performed footwork improvisations to match his rhythmic melody. The rehearsals culminated in a public presentation in September 2007.