The opening of the 38th José Limón International Dance Festival—on Sunday, April 27th, at the Ángela Peralta Theater—became a night to celebrate local talent that conquers the world and returns home. It marked the return of talented graduates of the Mazatlán Professional Dance School to their alma mater.
The dancers, who are now successful in other cities, returned to the stage where they grew up, giving the audience a showcase of their artistry and reaffirming the talent pool that is the EPDM.
The companies El Cacerolazo Danza (Lucía and Talya Sato) and Paquidermo Danza (Guillermo Magallón), graduates of the EPDM (National Institute of Statistics and Census), offered an exciting evening and inspired new generations of dancers. They shared the stage with the company Máscara de Agua. They presented three choreographies selected for the Third “Talento Sinaloa 2025” Showcase.
The Sinaloan company El Cacerolazo Danza, originally from Culiacán, had the honor of opening the José Limón International Dance Festival this Sunday, April 27th, at 7:00 pm in the iconic Ángela Peralta Theater.
Founded in 2010, the company, led by twins Talya and Lucía Sato, offered the audience a fragment of their powerful work “Segundo Aire en la muerte del arte,” choreographed by Lucía Sato.
Despite residing in different cities—Lucía in Guadalajara and Talya in Culiacán—the sisters demonstrated an undeniable artistic connection on stage. Their piece explored the loss of the essence of art today, the pressure of perfection, and the ephemeral gift that each performance represents for the audience.
With a career that includes participation in renowned festivals, El Cacerolazo Danza reaffirmed its commitment to contemporary dance. Their performance at the opening of the 38th José Limón Festival was a testament to the resilience and vitality of art in the current context.
The Sato sisters, trained at the Professional Dance School of Mazatlán and the María de Ávila Conservatory in Spain, in addition to collaborating with the renowned Héctor Hernández, demonstrated their versatility and passion for dance, leaving an indelible mark on the opening of this important festival.
The contemporary dance company Máscara de Agua, represented by Ericka Benítez and Jenifer González, presented the piece Petit Mort.
The piece, conceived as a game between two stray dogs, sensitively explored the primal emotions that animals don’t fully understand: loneliness, fear, and frustration, contrasting them with inherent innocence and playfulness.
Through evocative dance, the performers wove a tapestry of these complex sensations.
Máscara de Agua is a company with members from various parts of Mexico and Costa Rica. The company’s director is Mauricio Cruz, a native of Costa Rica who lives in Mexico City, as do the other members.
The opening day of the festival featured Guillermo Magallón, a dancer from Mazatlán who lives in Mexico City and founder of Paquidermo Danza.
The 11th-generation graduate of the Mazatlán Professional Dance School (EPDM), graced the opening night of the José Limón International Dance Festival with his solo performance “Danza Arte Vital.”
“Danza Arte Vital,” a project that celebrated its fourth anniversary in January and was supported by Fonca’s ENARTES program, is structured around five key concepts: the cut-up (a kind of choreographic cut-and-paste), non-narrative, appropriation, body art, and a fifth element.
Through his body language, Magallón invited the audience to construct their own interpretations based on their personal experiences. At the end of his performance, the artist explained that the audience’s reactions had been diverse, ranging from animals in transformation to fetuses and alien beings.
When asked about his choice of dance as a means of expression, Guillermo Magallón, who has lived in Mexico City for twelve years after attending the Ceprodac (Central American Academy of Visual Arts) and various professional experiences, noted that he found in movement a language that allows him to fully develop and channel his emotions. Despite not coming from a family of artists, his passion found its natural outlet in dance, although he confesses that if he hadn’t been a dancer, he might have dedicated himself to music or sculpture.
His initial training at the EPDM marked a turning point in his life, consolidating his vocation for dance. For Guillermo Magallón, returning to dance in his hometown represented a deep connection with his roots.
