Along with other student activities and performances at the Nickelodeon Rally on Friday, January 24, vivid colors filled the room as a celebration of culture and performing arts commenced by Selma High’s Los Paisanos.
Los Paisanos performed their program, Sinaloa, Fiesta de la Taspana at last month’s rally.
La Fiesta de Taspana dates back to 1862 and is celebrated on the third Saturday of October. After the rainy season, the town folk come together and take on the responsibility of cleaning up overgrown weeds and vegetation that grew from the heavy rains. A celebration of hard work and camaraderie follows afterward in the town square.
The performers had long awaited to showcase their program which had taken at least two months to learn.
“Performing in front of my peers is fun because I like to show my friends what we’ve been working on,” senior Alexis Camarillo expressed.
“At first performing in front of peers [is] pretty nerve racking with seeing everyone looking at you while you’re dancing, “ said junior Haylee Hurtado, who’s been performing with Los Paisanos since her freshman year. “But after performing for a while you get used to the feeling.”
As their routine started, pride and joy emitted from the performers’ beaming faces. The dance started with the boys dancing with machetes, then introduced the girls lively dancing with their vibrant skirts, followed by a feature of soloists and duets.
The boys and girls separated into two opposing large groups, with a duet in the center, telling the story of a boy trying to flirt with a refusing girl.
Haylee Hurtado, who was the girl soloist with her partner Eric Gonzalez explains, “[The girl] keeps rejecting him until [she] sees another girl who shows interest in him and begins to dance with [the boy].Then [she] pushes the girl away, and [decides to dance with him].”
Hurtado explains that it is important to add acting elements when dancing because it is crucial to creating a connection with the audience and to have them understand what the story is about.
The dancers then transitioned into a large arch, surrounding Jayden Bernardino, a junior, who in the story was trying to impress the women around him with his dance moves. Spirited voices filled the room and supportive cheers from the performers and audience were displayed.
“When I dance to a story,” Bernardino explained, “It affects me differently because every story has its different dance styles and positioning.”
Many students anxiously anticipated this performance presented by their peers and were left astonished after their performance was done.
“Our group was able to bring a good performance [at the rally],” Alexis Camarillo noted. “Despite us having to dance on a floor we’re not used to, we were able to push through and [give] a good show.”
You can expect Selma High’s Los Paisanos to showcase their skills again with many other local high schools at an upcoming event known as the High School Show Offs. The event will take place on March 1st and will be held in Royce Hall at Fresno High.
