Esperanza del Valle

Bay Area Santa Cruz County Latino/a/x Dance Mexican 2008 2009 2014 2017 2020

About the Organization

Esperanza del Valle, a folklorico dance company, has been dedicated to the dissemination, preservation, and performance of the rich traditional dance forms of Mexico.  Since 1980, Esperanza del Valle has strived to cultivate and promote pride and understanding of Mexican culture through its rich folklorico dances rooted in the merging of indigenous, European, and African heritages.

Living Cultures Grant Program

2020

ACTA’s Living Cultures grant will support Esperanza del Valle as the organization celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2020 with a calendar of community events and gala performances that highlight the best of the company’s work over the past 4 decades. Master teachers or keepers of the traditions from different regions of Mexico will work directly with company dancers, and community lectures and demonstrations will be open to the community. New costumes and accessories will also be created. The organization will offer gala performances featuring traditional dances and live music of Mexico and our original choreographed dramas.

2017

Esperanza del Valley applied ACTA funds to purchase dance attire from Colima, Mexico for eight men. The handmade costumes complemented the company’s long immersion into the study of the dance and music of the region and bringing authentic regional costumes to their public performances.

2014

Esperanza del Valle received a Living Cultures grant to support the design, creation, and purchase of vestuario, or costumes, for four different dance styles from the Sotavento region of Veracruz, Mexico. Working directly with maestros, or master teachers, of each dance style, Esperanza del Valle created and purchased the proper dress style for both male and female dancers in their company, allowing them to maintain the authenticity and integrity of each dance as they present them to their community.

2009

Esperanza del Valle received a Living Cultures grant to work with master artist Ramón Morones Ortíz of Guadalajara, Mexico, as part of their ¡Que Viva Jalisco! project.  Through their collaboration with Ortíz, five new dances were added to the company’s repertoire.  Funds also supported the addition of four men’s charro outfits and two women’s Jalisco dresses to the company’s costume inventory.

2008

A Living Cultures grant supported efforts to preserve and disseminate the organization’s research of the danzas (or dances) of the Huesteca region of Mexico in specific indigenous communities.  Interviews, images, and text which explain the purpose of the danzas were compiled and reproduced in book and DVD formats.