Performers Reflect on First Ever Hispanic Fest

Hispanic Fest’s plot involved a journey to El Mundo de los Muertos. Photo Credit: Justin Chow

By TIFFANY ORDONEZ

Happy chaos broke out amongst the actors, dancers, and tech crew on October 24 as the curtains pulled to a close, signalling the end of the very first Hispanic Festival in Midwood history.

“It was all just positive vibes,” Josias Gonzalez ’20 said. “People were jumping up and down and hugging. I was one of those people yelling.”

Gonzalez, who starred as Anna’s father in the show, explained why the show’s ending resulted in such an intense reaction. “Things in rehearsals didn’t go as smoothly as they could’ve,” Gonzalez admitted. “We were kind of expecting to fail some amount.”

Lack of time and practice made performers fear the worst. This production’s execution would determine the possibility of another Hispanic festival in the future, so it was imperative that the show be a success. 

Gonzalez said, “But us seeing how pretty good the show turned out? We were just so happy with it that we let all that joy out.” 

Laura Rosas ’20 shared the same sentiment. “We got through only two run-throughs before the show, and somehow despite all of that, they all pulled together and put on an amazing show,” she said. 

Witnessing such a display of unity made Rosas “feel insanely more proud” than she had already felt about all the work everybody put in. 

Gonzalez himself felt proud in the role he played because he saw himself in the same light as his character, who was “serious but also caring.” 

Matias Cardenas, eleven-years-old, a younger member of the audience in a sea of parents and high school students, said the show exceeded his expectations.

“I’m really proud of the teens for handling all of this,” he said. “Managing what they wanted to do, writing the script, and the dance steps.” 

“I was not expecting all the variety the kids put into the show,” said Paola Cardenas, his mother. “The dances, story, traditions, clothing, the guitar, and even things like the chancleta and Selena!”

The Hispanic Festival team went out of its way in providing the audience with a fashion show, illustrating some of the most iconic clothing in Latin culture. Dresses worn during quinceañeras were flaunted on stage, along with a white and blue dress with sewn-on flowers along the chest. There was singing, including “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” by Selena Quintanilla and “Lovely” by Billie Eilish. Finally, live guitar was incorporated in between the scenes of the play.

Although the Cardenases offered lots of praise, the two viewers also had some constructive criticism to pass on. 

“They focused way too much on dancing and acting, and less so on singing,” Matias Cardenas said. He would have preferred the show even out the time for dancing, acting, and singing.  

Paola Cardenas said she would have liked to see more “cultural food” presented in the show, such as empanadas, espumilla, and cuey.

Having seen the final product, Rosas would have liked to have added “live music, like a soft instrumental happening while transitioning is happening and stage crew is running on stage.” Maybe next year!

Midwood’s upcoming cultural festivals this year include Kwanzaa Fest and the Asian Cultural Festival. Plans for the first even Caribbean Festival are also underway.