Cultural experience at the Semblanza festival

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Jocelyne Gutierrez in Entertainment

Angie Quintanilla
Chronicle Reporter

The annual Semblanza Festival on Saturday Nov 15 at the LA Theatre took place in Downtown Los Angeles. The event centered around European and Latin American cultures, specifically in their music and traditional dances. Extravagant dances varied from the French Ballet to the Mexican Huapango dance.

Upon entering the theatre, you could observe paintings created by famous artists such as Frida Kahlo. Performers showed off their flamboyant costumes representing their culture. Artisans from Peru, Mexico and Argentina were selling their handcrafted creations including sculptures, bags, clothing and jewelry made from precious stones. Ethnic food like Mexican Tamales and champurrado, a hot drink, was being sold during the cold evening.

The event began at 8 pm with a speech from Blanca Soto, the founder and director of The Semblanza Dance Festival. She expressed her belief that “all cultures, Europeans and Latin Americans are united in some way”. Half way through the show, awards and recognitions were given to special guests. Among the guests were City Council Members Arturo Chavez and Jose Zepeda. Long-time performers were awarded hand painted plaques engraved with all the Latin American and European flags.