Valley’s Latino talent shines at Gallo Center

The stage swirled in color and culture Saturday night at the Gallo Center for the Arts.

A sold-out crowd in the downtown center’s Foster Theater whooped and whistled for the contestants at the first Talento Vivo en el Valle, a talent show celebrating local Latino and Spanish-language performers. The competition featured 24 ballet folklórico and mariachi/ranchera acts from across the region.

The showcase honored the performers’ Mexican heritage and highlighted the area’s rich diversity. Gallo Center Community Engagement Manager Raul Garcia called the event a great moment for the performing arts venue and its ongoing outreach to the area’s Latino community.

“We felt it was time to have our own talent show that showcased Latino talent in the valley. As a longtime organizer of the International Festival, this was a no-brainer for me,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for all these groups that try to maintain their culture.”

The new event is a spinoff of the Valley Talent Project (formerly known as Valley’s Got Talent), with the evening’s grand prize winner automatically entered into the popular annual talent competition this August.

The performers competed in four categories: youth dance, adult dance, male singer and female singer. Winners in each category took home a $750 prize. A panel of six judges, with wide-ranging and international experience in dancing and singing, decided the winners.

Competing in dance were: Ballet Folklórico Anahuac (adult, Modesto); Ballet Folklórico de Frank Zapata (adult, Stockton); Ballet Folklórico de Las Rosas (adult and youth, Manteca); Ballet Folklórico Los Falcones (Youth Dance, Modesto); Ballet Folklórico Los Luceros de Osborn (adult and youth, Turlock); Ballet Folklórico Raices Mexicanas de Maria Valdovinos (adult and youth, Stockton); Ballet Folklórico Tepeyac (youth, Salida); Ballet Folklórico Tradiciones (adult, Modesto); and Walnut Grove Wildcats Folkloric Dancers (youth, Patterson).

Competing in the singing categories were: Laura Castaneda (Modesto), Gabriela Diaz Ortega (Salida), Raquel Duarte (Riverbank), Olivia Esquivez Gonzalez (Gustine), Carmen Fausto (Patterson), Genaro Fernandez (Turlock), Liliana Hernandez (Modesto), Blanca Isabel (Turlock), Arturo Martinez (Gustine), Patricia Mercado (Stockton), Mina Vasquez (Modesto) and Ramiro Zavala (Modesto).

Many of the acts perform regularly at festivals, schools and special events. Modesto-based Ballet Folklórico Anahuac was founded in 2005 and competes in the Bay Area and beyond. Dancer and instructor Juan Carlos Gonzalez said his group was excited to be a part of the new event so close to home.

“We wanted to be part of this because it’s local and most of the competitions we go to we have to travel two hours or more,” he said. “This is right in our backyard.”

The ballet folklórico competitors showcased an array of styles. The traditional folk dance can vary greatly from region to region both in choreography and costumes. The dancers’ outfits ranged from the well-known brightly colored flowing dresses to cowboy hats, Western boots and even shimmering unitards.

“Most people think of ballet folklórico as just the Jalisco with the colorful ribbons, but there is a large variety,” said Michelle Carrillo, teacher of the Los Luceros de Osborn group. “It’s nice to be able to see all the different groups together because we all have the same passion, but different styles.”

The singers, who performed mariachi and ranchera numbers, ranged from seasoned entertainers to relative newcomers. Many, like Patterson resident Carmen Fausto, had grown up singing the music.

“I like that it brings all of these different artists together to show the community how beautiful our culture really is,” said Fausto, who performed a mariachi song.

Contest judge Zenon Barrón, who has a Ph.D. in dance from Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and danced with the world-famous Ballet Folklórico of México of Amalia Hernández, said he was impressed by the talent in the valley. He said shows like this help nurture understanding and appreciation both inside and outside of the Latino community.

“I think it’s so important for the community to preserve our culture in this country,” he said. “If you watch the news, there’s a lot about Mexicans lately. So evenings like this are a good way to show what our culture is really like in a good way.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 6:08 AM with the headline "Valley’s Latino talent shines at Gallo Center."