View From Casita Colibrí

Not only is the previously mentioned Oaxaca FilmFest4 opening tomorrow night, but last night a calenda up Morelos heralded the arrival of the 8th Congreso Nacional de Danzón.  Alas, it was raining, I’m a wimp, and so stayed home.  However, the music coming from the Plaza de la Danza sounded wonderful.  Sigh….

If you are walking around Oaxaca during the next few days, be on the lookout for the guapas y guapos (the guys are all duded up, too) of Danzón.  They are adding a lot of glitz and glamour to the streets of the city.

For the uninitiated, Danzón is a very stately dance that originated in Cuba.  However, it seems to be most beloved in Puerto Rico and Mexico.  It has especially flourished in Oaxaca, where one can find dancers young and old dancing under the laurel trees in the Zócalo every Wednesday evening at 6:30.  And, no wonder it has retained its popularity here, according to Wikipedia, “many famous danzones were composed by Oaxacan musicians such as the famous Nereidas and Teléfono de larga distancia, both works of Amador Pérez Dimas, from the town of Zaachila, near Oaxaca city.”

If you aren’t anywhere where Danzón is performed, you can check out the 1991 movie, Danzón:

Julia (Rojo) is a phone operator in Mexico City who divides her time between her job, her daughter and the danzon: a cuban dance very popular in Mexico and Central America. Every wednesday Julia does the danzon with Carmelo (Rergis) in the old “Salon Colonia”. They’ve danced for years but barely know each other. One night Carmelo disappears without a trace. Feeling lonely and sad, Julia takes a train to Veracruz, where she knows Carmelo has a brother. That sudden trip will change Julia’s life forever.  — IMDB

I haven’t seen the movie, but according to one reviewer, the soundtrack is worth the rental price.  I’m going to try to find it!