DANCE REVIEW : ‘Fiesta Latino’: An Attempt to Preserve Legends

According to the group that bears it as a name, the Quechua word Yatiri means “folk healer and keeper of the legends.” It might also have been the spirit behind the mixed-bill “Fiesta Latino” at Gindi Auditorium, which attempted to provide a glimpse of Latino arts through a variety of groups specializing in cultures as various as Aztec and Spanish Gypsy.

But of the five groups sharing this bill of traditional and folk song and dance Saturday, only Chinin de Triana Cuadro Flamenco and the eloquent 3-year-old quartet known as the Grupo Yatiri truly lived up to the title of legend keepers. The larger dance groups didn’t fare nearly as well.

The colorful costumes of folklorico were seen in the Ballet Folklorico Cuica Calli’s opening number, the Aztec “Ochpanitztli,” in which pairs of maidens and war gods twirled with and circled around one another. The three Mexican dances from Jalisco, Guerrero and Veracruz presented later in the program were more lively, especially the splashy Veracruz dance, complete with two 12-foot puppets and one dancer wearing a papier-mache head. But even here, the dancing itself was unspectacular, characterized by low-energy footwork, sloppy focus and generic choreography.

Still, the Ballet Folklorico was masterful compared with the tacky amateurism of the Beverly Hills Cotillion, the only other large ensemble on the bill. Looking more like a singles group than a dance company, the 16 red-and-black-clad mostly non-Latino men and women dipped, partnered and plodded their way through “Paso Doble,” a tango and Latin medley that only underscored their terpsichorean failings.

All too brief, however, was the lyrical interlude of Bolivian and Peruvian music by the Grupo Yatiri (Mario Torrico, Luis Rodriguez, Martin Espino and Fernando Popayan). Elegant in their woven off-white ponchos, the musicians conjured the mystique of the Andes with five songs played on a variety of native instruments.

Chinin de Triana (vocals), Benito Palacias (guitar) and dancers Daniel Ramirez and Linda Andrade of the Chinin de Triana Cuadro Flamenco closed the night with four songs. Slow at first, De Triana and his cohorts soon warmed to the moment, rendering the hearty tones of the dance music with verve.

Also on the bill, the three men and two women of Los Gauchos ably demonstrated the bootheel stomping ways of Argentinean dance with short, sporty dances showcasing the men.

Actor Ray Victor narrated the entire program, gamely stalling for time and explaining the cultural background for the capacity crowd. The program was also presented twice on Sunday.