Confirmed date: Saturday, September 3
By Melanie Jongsma
LANSING, Ill. (May 24, 2022) – It was 2017 when Mexico en el Corazón (“Mexico in the heart”) first came to Lansing, Illinois. The show, consisting of dance group Ballet Folclórico Guadalajara and band Mariachi Juvenil Colotlán, featured two hours of nearly non-stop music and dancing in a packed gym at Memorial Junior High School. The crowd included Lansing residents as well as visitors from a 30-mile radius surrounding.
The show returned in 2018 and 2019, now filling the larger auditorium at TF South High School. The 2019 tour comprised 17 locations across the United States, including Lansing.
The 2020 pandemic forced organizers to offer a virtual performance, which could be viewed on their Facebook page, facebook.com/mexicoencorazon. And last year’s uncertainty about COVID resurgence made planning such a large-scale event impossible, so the virtual performance was offered again.
Lansing resident Martha Vargas is one of the directors of the Federation of Jalisco in the Midwest, and she has played a large role in bringing Mexico en el Corazón to Lansing for the past few years. Martha’s husband Miguel provides tech support for the show. They began hoping already in January that Corazón would be able to resume their touring schedule this year. Martha is coordinating efforts to have the show return this fall.
It was May 23 when the performance date and location were confirmed: Saturday, September 3, again at TF South.
Mexico en el Corazón is dedicated to preserving the cultural traditions of Mexico, particularly those of Guadalajara. The program features dances and music originating from states all across Mexico, and the performers wear traditional costumes representing the various areas of Mexico.
Related
- Mexico comes to Lansing (2017 article)
