M.E.Ch.A held its second annual Noche de Cultura (Night of Culture) on April 30 at Bakersfield College with five expected performances from Hawaii dancers to Aztec tribal dancers. This night was to shed light on the different styles and traditions of costumes, dance, and music in the Mexican culture as well as some other cultures.

The celebration began with a few jokes and singing from members of M.E.Ch.A as they entertained the audience that waited for the performances to start. The members played some selective Mexican music as well, in order to divert from the hour that had gone by with none of the night’s performers showing up.

As members rushed to entertain, Enrique Martinez, M.E.Ch.A member and event coordinator, tried to line up what performers were still available.

The first group of performers was the Grupo Folklorico Escuelas Unidas (Mexican Folk dancing), directed by Sylvia Guzman.

The dancers were older women who were dressed in very colorful and ruffled dresses. They danced to a variety of traditional Mexican music. Each woman had a specific color and style on their dress that displayed a unique design in the dance coordination as they twirled around and swung their dresses.

The second group, from the Folklorico Escuela Unidas, were children who showed off their dance and style skills. The group of kids did couples dancing, group dancing, and weapons dancing, all of which are common in traditional folk dancing.

For the last act of the night, it was the Aztec dancers of Calpulli Tedpan Tecuantitlan Danza Azteca, who showed up in full Aztec clothing and face paint. The captain, Oceolotl, had his face painted and a headdress that was full of different feathers. The other members were four women who dressed in full Aztec clothing and headdresses as well. Each woman wore a different design and color of dress.

As Oceolotl beat on a huehuetl drum, the women danced and did a ceremonial opening that is custom when starting a spiritual dance. The technique the women used to dance was intense.

Overall, the event lasted three hours. The audience, which was supposed to pay, was allowed to watch for free because it took nearly an hour and a half for entertainers to show up. On the other hand, the audience got a dosage of two cultures that put on an entertaining show.

The M.E.Ch.A club will be doing a weeklong celebration for Cinco de Mayo at BC and would love for the school to participate in the festivities they have planned for each day of the week.