MONARCAS Premieres At Queens Theatre Memorial Day Weekend

For its 20th anniversary season, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company (Calpulli) will premiere "Monarcas" with long-time partner Queens Theatre on May 27th and 28th, 2023 with stories written and directed by co-founders of the company Artistic Director Alberto Lopez Herrera and Executive Director Juan Castaño. Calpulli tells stories told entirely through the universal language of dance, and "Monarcas" is a collection of stories that seeks to honor the contributions and sacrifices of Mexican immigrants to the USA. It will feature new works both dance and musical with the full cast of 16 dancers and core of musicians. Mexican folkloric dance and traditional music are the heart of all of Calpulli's works, and "Monarcas" will feature new choreography by Lopez Herrera, Castaño, and musical compositions and arrangement by Music Director George Saenz.

Saturday, May 27th, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 28th, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.
Queens Theatre
Flushing Meadows Corona Park 14 United Nations Ave S, Corona, NY 11368
Tickets and Information: https://queenstheatre.org/event/monarcas/
Box Office: 718-760-0064
Tickets: $25-$40

"'Monarcas' was set to premiere in 2020," shared Lopez Herrera, "but the pandemic unfortunately had other plans for us all." Lopez Herrera has written a dance-based story celebrating Mexican winemakers in the USA. During World War II, Mexican families came to the USA with the Bracero program to fill desperately needed spots for laborers, and, through generations of work, these proud families and their Mexican-American children are now the owners of many vineyards in California. "I am so inspired by these families. They remind me of my own and the work in agriculture we have in common. I especially admire the women- the matriarchs- who led their families to succeed," Lopez Herrera added. He and Saenz began to work on the music and choreography for the story in 2019 with the support of Exploring the Metropolis and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center.

The second story honors servicemen and women, coinciding with the Memorial Day weekend premiere. "My father loved and was so proud of his time in the US Army, and there is a legacy of Mexicans serving in our country's armed forces that I want to share," said Castaño. This story is based partially on Company E- the first and only US military unit composed of Mexican-Americans - who served during World War II. The story, however, is more generally based in the era of the 1940s through 1960s when, in several wars, Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans served a country that both embraced and rejected them. Castaño received the Joseph F. Wall Service award in 2019 from his alma mater Grinnell College and donated $30K of the award to the development of "Monarcas."

Leading up to the premiere, development of "Monarcas" will be finalized at an arts residency in April at the Pocantico Center. The residency and additional development support is funded by an award via the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Then Calpulli will share a short excerpt of "Monarcas" at the Queens Borough State of the Union at Queens Theatre on April 28th in conjunction with the Queens Borough President's office. After the premiere at Queens Theatre, Calpulli will return to the Pocantico Center for a full performance of "Monarcas."

Saturday, June 10th, 2023 at 3:00pm
Pocantico Arts Center
200 Lake Rd, Tarrytown, NY 10591
Event information: https://www.rbf.org/pocantico/events

"Monarcas" is inspired by the monarch butterfly- la mariposa monarca- and their lifetime migration across North America. Their voyage and sacrifice for family and the future we see as parallel to the immigrant stories of the last century and current day. And, though our story focuses on immigration through a Mexican lens, it is the Directors' hope that the universality of the experience will reach all audiences. "Monarcas" is envisioned as a grouping of stories that will change and grow in the coming years with new chapters, eras, and inspiring people.

"Monarcas" will be the last production with Lopez Herrera as Artistic Director. Lopez Herrera has announced that he will become the Director of Arts-in-Education for Calpulli, a role he currently has in addition to Artistic Director. "I am so proud of the growth and achievements we have made as Calpulli for the last 20 years. I never thought we would be where we are now. As Calpulli grows, our leadership must grow also, and I am excited to dedicate my time more to Arts-in-Education. I think we can serve even more students, schools, and communities with the educational side of our work." Lopez Herrera is committed to remaining Artistic Director till a replacement is announced.

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