While I was waiting for the A Bailar Casino contest to begin in areas of the Casino Campestre urban park, as the culmination of the “30+1 All Dance” day, dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the Ballet Folklorico de Camagüey (BFC), the rain threatened. To advance my work I approached a young man who was tuning his guitar leaning against a tree and we began to talk.

For Adrián Cansino, the group has been a great school and an immense opportunity, in the nearly 5 years that he has been a member. He entered as a guitarist and now also plays bass and percussion.

Versatility

This versatility is a common practice among the musicians of the Company, who largely thank the more experienced ones, who share knowledge among the young people to broaden their training; premise promoted by its director Reinaldo Echemendía Estrada.

For maestro Echemedía, the BFC is more than a musical and dance group, because “it draws on popular culture and also expresses itself with the technical tools of the academy.”

Let’s dance Casino

Due to its link with popular culture, I found the proposal to “close with a flourish” this day of celebrations very successful, for the 31st anniversary of the Folkloric Ballet, with such a unique dance contest; which I am sure that Master Adalberto Álvarez enjoyed a lot from eternity, because it was also his desire to bring ruedas de casino to public places, something that in addition to beauty brings joy.

With the musical accompaniment of the Maravilla de Florida orchestra, four ruedas of dancers were presented, corresponding to the municipalities of Esmeralda, Nuevitas and the Socio-cultural Project Golpe a Golpe, of the Hermanos Saíz Association.

Something striking was the participation of more than ten dance couples, in addition, the show “Mi Barrio” was presented, by the group Ecos del Tínima. In the contest three prizes were awarded by categories.

Among the winners stands out with the first place in the Show category, the Ecos del Tínima Group, from the Amalia Simoni House of Culture, from Camagüey. Among the couples, the first place went to: Arley Díaz and Melisa González, from the Esmeralda municipality; while in the Ruedas de Casino category, the prize went to Salsa and Timba, also from the municipality of Esmeralda.

Honor

The afternoon at the pace of a casino led to the delivery of the 45th Anniversary Commemorative Seal to the BFC and La Maravilla. The distinction was awarded by the National Union of Cultural Workers, thus recognizing the trajectory and contributions of both groups, in the cultural work of the city.

Maestro Echemendía highlighted that the Let’s dance Casino contest was the prelude to what will be the eleventh edition of the Olorum, in 2023; meeting that is celebrated every September in Camagüey, with the presence of dance traditions from all over the country.

We go back under the tree

At the end of the show, which by the way was a success, I met Adrián again, without the threat of rain, and I congratulated him on the presentation. I also told him about something that I appreciate very much about the BFC, and that is that they interpret a touch of African heritage as well as a Son, and that those fusions of trova with rumba seem great to me.

Our conversation ended with a few words from its director, which mark the day-to-day of the Company: “our Folkloric does not do it for fashion, it has been a creation laboratory over time”, an argument with which I totally agreed. Congratulations for so many contributions to the spirituality of your audience.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García