Jacchigua, Ecuadors Folklore Ballet, Moves To Teatro Bolivar In Heart Of The Restored Old City Of Quito, Ecuador – A World Heritage Site

Jácchigua, Ecuador’s acclaimed Folklore Ballet, has moved to the Teatro Bolívar in the heart of Quito’s Old City, which was restored last year on its 25th anniversary as a World Heritage Site. The performances, which give a vibrant introduction to Ecuador’s cultural heritage, are held on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm in the historic theater on Espejo Street, one block from the illuminated Spanish colonial architecture of Independence Square.

The 90-member company of dancers and musicians, the choreography and music have been developed by its creator and director, Rafael Camino, to preserve traditional dances and folk arts of the Andean peoples and to share Ecuador’s rich, multi-ethnic cultural legacy with a wider audience. In Quichua — the lingua franca of the Incas — Jácchigua expresses the joy of Indian farmers at the end of the harvest on haciendas.

Elaborately and authentically costumed dancers perform a wide-ranging program of traditional celebrations of the harvest, summer solstice, ancestral rituals of thanksgiving to the Sun God and Mother Earth, and the blending and often haunting clash of indigenous and colonial cultures. Color and movement are integrated in complex ways that provide intellectual as well as visual impact. More than 2,000 costumes reflect Camino’s research into the dyes, textures and designs used in the 19th and early 20th centuries and incorporate elements from Indian communities such as coral rosaries, bells and leather belts with antique silver coins.

Founded in 1989, Jácchigua is sponsored by Metropolitan Touring, Ecuador’s largest tour operator, and by the Municipality of Quito and Ministry of Tourism. It has a resident cast, a dance school for children and a touring cast that has performed in Europe, Japan, Mexico and the U.S.

Tickets at $25 per person, including round-trip transportation between major hotels and the theater, are available from Metropolitan Touring’s U.S. representative, Adventure Associates in Dallas, (800) 527-2500 or (972) 907-0414; fax (972) 783-1286; e-mail info@adventure-associates.com; and www.galapagosvoyage.com

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October 4, 2004   Posted in: Ecuador