Misa Azteca at the first major event of FCM 2023
With an emotional speech that went from the origin to the current era of the Festival Cultural Mazatlán, the General Director of the Instituto Municipal de Cultura, Turismo y Arte de Mazatlán, Raúl Rico González thanked the artists and the public who for 30 years have supported the most emblematic festival of culture and arts in the region.
Upon reaching its 30th anniversary, the Cultural Festival brought together hundreds of people last Saturday, October 7th, at the Ángela Peralta Theater where more than 100 artists joined their talents to stage “Misa Azteca,” an inspiration that came “from heaven” to the Mexican-American composer, Joseph Julián González, who was present among the public and a special guest during that anniversary night.
The FCM begins on October 7th and concludes on December 17th, a period in which 58 events will make the scene shine with the performance of 1,113 artists from Mexico, the United States, Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Spain and The Ukraine.
Before the concert, Rico González welcomed and narrated historical episodes of the Ángela Peralta Theater through whose stage flows the sensitivity, talent and creative capacity of Mazatlan, national and international artists who have found in Mazatlán a great forum for the expression of the arts.
“Cyclone Olivia arrived and took away the roof (of the theater) and we were left with a Ficus (tree) in the center of the stage as a memory of the past. This is how the Sinaloa Cultural Festival began in 1987. At that time it was impossible to remove the Ficus. “I set up the room with movable iron chairs and the show took place around the tree,” he added.
One of the great international figures who appeared on this stage was Gilda Cruz Romo, who entered through the door to the tree and there her husband was waiting for her to give the most wonderful concerts that were held at that time,” said the General Director of Cultura.
He recalled that the roof of the theater “was closed” with a contribution from the National Lottery and in 1992 the venue was reopened with the opera “Carmen” performed by mezzoprano Adria Firestone.
“It was a splendid night and I believe that since then the theater has had a good adventure,” he said with conviction.
In his speech he mentioned that when the Sinaloa Cultural Festival ended it was replaced by a series of smaller events, and in Mazatlán there was the impulse to continue the Cultural Festival through the Festival Cultural Mazatlán with the resources that the Municipality could have available.
“And along with this the School (Municipal of the Arts) grows and begins to feed a whole dynamic of culture and art sustained by the artists and by you, it has been 30 years, so thank you very much for supporting us, thank you very much for still being here and I hope that they will continue for many more years, this is how we begin the Festival Cultural Mazatlánl, welcome everyone”, he concluded to give way to the “Misa Azteca”.
