Everybody loves the underdog who rises to the occasion and beats the bully.
Learn the real story behind one of the fastest growing U.S. party days when Calpulli Mexican Dance Company presents Puebla: The Story of Cinco de Mayo at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center on Sunday, April 14, and Monday, April 15. (Yes, U.S. party days.)
With educational narration, folkloric and indigenous dance, live music, and elaborate costumes, this Queens-based troupe will retell the Mexican military victory over the invading French Army during the Battle for Puebla on May 5, 1862. (According to legend, General Ignacio Zaragoza led a rag-tag group of about 2,000 soldiers and 2,700 campesinos who used machetes to defeat French soldiers who had bayonets, canyons, pistols, and rifles.)
General admission is $15, and the performances are April 14 at 2 pm and April 15 at 10:30 am.
Before the April 14 show, Calpulli will present a workshop, Immerse in Puebla through Talavera, at noon. Youngsters (ages five to 12) will learn about the Mexican pottery tradition Talavera and architecture in Puebla. Participants will develop Talavera designs and paint them on sculptural items to take home.
Founded in 2003, Calpulli celebrates and promotes Mexican and Mexican-American culture. (“Calpulli” means “family” and “big house” in the Aztec language Nahuatl.) The company, which won a National Endowment for the Arts award in 2015, also offers dances that celebrate Christmas, Dia de los Muertos, the Monarch Butterfly, and other aspects of Mexican culture.
Located at 31-10 Thomson Ave. in Long Island City, the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center has a Mainstage Theatre that seats about 740 guests on a single level plus up to 12 guests in a wheelchair section.
Editor’s note: Calpulli members use props such as fake wooden riffles and fake machetes in Puebla: The Story of Cinco de Mayo.
Images: LPAC/Calpulli