Colourful embroidered clothing, choreographies and traditional music adorned Ottawa’s City Hall during the Latin American Heritage Month Festival on Oct. 19.
The embassies of Mexico, Bolivia and El Salvador invited traditional dancers from their respective countries to perform in Ottawa at its festival to celebrate their cultures and connect with people from other Latin American countries.
Paola Aviles immigrated to Montreal from El Salvador in 2006 to pursue an undergraduate degree at Concordia University. She said dancing with the Salvadoran dance group Flor de Fuego helped her find community when she first arrived in Canada.
“When you move outside your country, there is the part that you feel that you are a stranger in a different society, and you are more aware about your differences in culture and the way you speak,” Aviles said. “I find that it helped me to really find my identity as a Salvadoran in Montreal.”
Ana Lopez founded Flor de Fuego with three other Salvadoran women in 2001. She said they created the group to represent their culture through their love of traditional Salvadoran dancing.
Lopez immigrated to Montreal from El Salvador with her family around five decades ago. She said it was important to preserve Latin American communities in Canada through dance and events.
“There are new generations born here and they learn with the dance, with the community where their parents come from,” Lopez said.
“[Dancing] just brings back a sense of community and home,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez immigrated to Ottawa from Bolivia in 2010. She performed with her two Bolivian friends in the group Renacer Bolivia. Fernandez said the group formed through their shared love of traditional dance.
“We try to be connected throughout the year, and it’s very special when we can gather and then dance and celebrate our culture,” Fernandez said.
Daniel Galicia, member of the Ballet Mexicain de Montréal, performed at the festival. He said his traditional Mexican dance performances share a part of himself and help keep his culture alive.
At 14 years old, Galicia immigrated to Montreal with his family and said he was glad to have found a Latin American community to preserve his traditions. He began dancing with the ballet about 10 years ago.
He wore a colourful embroidered traditional dress, jewellery and two long braids. He said he has recently expressed his identity through the female role in traditional dance numbers.
“Every time that I dance it’s a special occasion, and sometimes I’m full of fear, but someone has to do it,” Galicia said. “I’m glad I can share that and do that for other generations.”
Gindo Galeana is the artistic director and creator of the Ballet Mexicain de Montréal which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Galeana said people who immigrate to Canada have two homes: their country of origin and where they live now. He said he felt at home through Latin American traditional dance.
“We continue living our culture, even though we live in another country,” Galeana said.
Featured Image by Ana Maria Cadena/The Charlatan.
