Performing before a sold out Crowell Concert Hall two Saturdays ago, Sandra Manzanares ’08, Maggie Velasquez ’08, and Miles Tokunow ’10 did not hold anything back. In a beautiful performance of the Garifuna-style dance called punta, the three glided across the stage like magic and, with plenty of hip and rear-end shaking, showed why the dance is sometimes called “buttocks.”
Expresiones de Latinos’s acts were as varied as the University Latino community itself. The stage was decorated with twenty Latin American flags that added a colorful backdrop to an amazing night of dance, spoken word, live musical performances, and comedy.
The moment the five senior hosts stepped onto the stage in their pajamas for the first skit, it became apparent that they were in charge of something special. From the opening Bachata dance, to the finale performed by campus favorite Orchestra Fiebre, the audience, including those visiting for Para La Familia Weekend, gave vocal support. There were standing ovations given on at least three distinct occasions.
“Student performances were great,” said Jake Nussbaum ’10. “It was a family event, and that wasn’t something I had seen before in a Wesleyan celebration.”
The four large group dances showcased both skill and well orchestrated choreography. The dancers looked happy as they moved through the often intricate partner dances. The most moving pieces, however, were the original poetry and spoken word pieces interspersed throughout the evening.
Maya Odim ’10 recited an original work that was mostly in Spanish, with an occasional English phrase. She was emotive and energetic, causing the audience to both laugh with delight and sigh with acceptance. Afterwards she mentioned she had very personal reasons for choosing to perform in Expresiones.
“It was the first time I had performed a spoken word piece in Spanish,” Odim said. “I am part Cuban, and fluent in Spanish but no one ever thinks of me as a Latina, because I don’t look like the stereotypical genotype of a Latina.”
Odim wore a shirt with the Cuban flag on it, hoping people might make the connection.
“Once they made that connection I wanted them to see me, and my obvious African roots,” she said. “I have always struggled with my Latina identity, because many people assume that I am only African-American. Performing in Spanish helped me tap into a part of me that I am very proud of and want people to know about.”
Each of the five hosts was given some time to do a skit, either with others or alone. Gilda Estevez ’07 and Jennifer Ayala ’07 performed a hilarious piece about how they were just “fly-er” than anyone else. Estevez even included a small dog in her purse as a fitting accessory. Axzyr De Leon ’07 expressed his gratitude to members of the University community as well as his family, and left himself and parts of the audience in tears.
Jose Chapa ’07 stole the show with his interpretative dance and performance piece inspired entirely by Wespeaks. Norah Andrews ’07 provided the operative vocals that accompanied the fifteen-member dance troupe clad entirely in black. Wespeak favorites from the past semester were performed, such as “Fuck whoever stole our funnel by 56 Fountain,” “Bennet responds to Zemach-Bersin by Presisdent Doug Bennet,” “Fuck whoever stole my laptop by Chapa,” and “ Evan Carp Defends Evan Carp by Evan Carp.”
“I chose my own, because I wanted to,” Chapa said. “The rest, for example, the funnel one, [I chose] because I felt that silenced me and the message I was trying to convey with the Wespeak I wrote. President Doug Bennet’s, because I don’t know if people actually got to read it and analyze it. The others, well, their poetry spoke through our dance.”
At the end of the evening, the audience’s open arms and appreciative applause stood as the a testament to a remarkable evening.
“My favorite part of the show was hearing the audience’s reactions,” Odim said. “Hearing everyone’s laughter and applause made it all worthwhile.”
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