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This festival celebrates the cultural contributions of Miguel de Cervantes. The roots of the festival go back to the 1950’s when university students began performing farces of Cervantes’ works in the city’s plazas. Over the years, these performances gained greater and greater audiences. The first international Cervantes festival began on September 29, 1972.

The festival attracted participants and audiences from around the world from the beginning, but when Guanajuato was named as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988, the city attracted even more national and international tourism. On March 4, 2005, UNESCO awarded the city of Guanajuato the title of “Cervantina Capital of America,” which assured continuing international attention and tourism.

Each year, one country and one Mexican state are invited to share their traditional and contemporary performing and visual arts during the festival Sometimes, vendors from the featured country/state bring their wares (food, clothing, handicrafts, musical instruments, and more) to sell.

This year’s festival, now in its 36th year, features Catalu?a (Catalonia), a region of Spain whose capital is Barcelona, and the Mexican state of Campeche.

The festival offers music, dance, theater, visual arts, and street performances. In addition to the officially sponsored events, there are numerous other events like street theater, live music in the coffeehouses and bars, street musicians, jugglers, mimes, clowns, and some privately sponsored concerts.

The 2008 festival offers 46 different musical groups, 14 dance groups, 10 theater companies, four presentations especially for children, 44 visual art exhibits including painting, photography, sculpture, as well as 55 films (including Rocky Horror Picture Show, Tootsie, and The Killing Fields).

Music

Classical music performances will be given by the Symphony Orchestra of Campeche, the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Guanajuato and by the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico among others.

Besides classical music, a number of other musical genres will be offered by groups from many different countries.

Elastic Band (Banda El?stica) has been on Mexico’s alternative music scene for more than 25 years. The sound is a combination of jazz, rock, and contemporary music. The band has six members who play instruments including marimba, percussion, guitar, drums, bass, flute, and saxophone.

Black Mud (Barro Negro) is from Guanajuato. This group was formed in 2002 by students and alumni of the University of Guanajuato’s School of Music. The group collects folk rhythms and various genres of music from all over the world. The group consists of five members who play electric guitar, saxophone, drums, electric bass, and percussion. Four of the five provide vocals. The group creates mixtures of jazz, African, house, reggae, swing, fox trot, cumbia (originally a folk dance and folk music from Columbia), guaguanc? (a sub-genre of Cuban rumba, which is a very complex and rhythmic music and dance style), buler?a (a fast flamenco rhythm that originated in the Andalusia area of Spain), and chachach? (a style of Cuban dance music).

Caf? Tacvba (also known as Caf? Tacuba) started in 1989 in a garage in the state of Mexico. It consists of five members, two of which provide vocals. The instruments include guitar, bass, and keyboard. The group’s name was originally “Alicia Ya No Vive Aqui,” a tribute to the movie, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” The band took its final name from a Mexico City coffee shop that opened in 1912 and is still in business on Tacuba Street. The music covers a wide variety of genres, but is most commonly labeled as Rock in Spanish.

Though all the songs are performed in Spanish, the group has a considerable following of English speakers. The group has won Grammy awards as well as Latin Grammy awards.

The National Opera of Mexico began formally in 1948 and continues to perform such classics as La Traviata, Carmen, Turandot, Tristan and Isolde, and more. In 1992, the Opera Company underwent a modernization to enhance the artistic quality of the productions as well as to provide a better spectacle for the audience members. There is a system of simultaneous subtitles in Spanish so the audience members can fully understand and appreciate the plot of the story.

The YL (Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat) Male Choir from Finland was founded at the University of Helsinki in 1883. The choir has had a long history of concerts, international tours, and numerous recordings. The choir is considered one of the most prominent male choirs in the world.

Els Pets (the name means “The Farts”) from Catalonia is a six-member group, four of whom provide vocals. The instruments include guitar, drums, piano, keyboards, violin, and mandolin. This group was formed in 1985 and was part of the musical movement called Catalan Rock, which used the Catalan language (a language that was prohibited from being used in public events and government-run institutions during Franco’s dictatorship). In 1994, the group received the National Music Award.

Ensemble Ehecalli (Ensamble Ehecalli) was formed in Guanajuato in the Spring of 2001. The group chose the name Ehecalli, which means “house of the wind” in the N?huatl language, in June 2002. This group combines woodwinds with piano. The woodwind players are members of the University of Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra.

Great Voices of Gospel, from Harlem (in New York City), is one of the most famous gospel choirs in the world. This youth choir was founded in 1982 and is one of eight choirs at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Harlem. Besides performing songs with religious themes, the choir has also done tributes to Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, and Elvis Presley. The choir has performed in many locations in the USA as well as in South Africa and throughout South America. The choir has been invited to participate in the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy this December.

Shlomo Mintz, from Israel, is one of the world’s premier violinists. He made his debut with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Israel when he was just 11 years old. He debuted at Carnegie Hall at age 16. He has also directed the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Japan and the Israel Philharmonic. He has won many awards and has recorded many albums.

Dance

Folk dance performances will be given by the Ballet Folkl?rico of the University of Campeche, the Ballet Folkl?rico of the University of Guanajuato and the Ballet Folkl?rico of Amalia Hernandez of Mexico.

Besides folk dance, there will be ballet performed by Grand Ballet of the State of Campeche as well as dance forms from various countries.

Anajnu Veatem (us and you all…nosotros y ustedes…in Hebrew) Jewish Dance Company in Mexico was founded in 1971 and integrates all disciplines of art. They perform everything from folk to contemporary dance and celebrate the Jewish-Mexican culture.

Living Arts is a dance group from India whose aim is to preserve and promote India’s rich cultural heritage. It is one of the most renowned folk groups in India.

Performances Especially for Children

A Poc a Poc was founded in 1994 by Jaime Camarena in Barcelona, Spain. This group explores the relation between the dancer and his surroundings.

Kawasemi-za, directed by Oshiya Yamamoto, is a puppet show from Japan.

The L’Auditori de Barcelona is a group that performs experimental music especially for children. Its objective is to create a spectacle that not only entertains the children but also introduces them to various instruments and teaches them how to enjoy going to concerts.

Theater

One of the more interesting theater productions will be presented by Sarruga Producciones from Catalu?a (Catalonia), Spain, a street theater group that uses giant mechanical insects as part of its presentation. These insects not only resemble real insects but they also move almost identically to their real counterparts.

For a more traditional theater production, the Lithuanian company, Meno Fortas, will perform Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The festival has something for every age and every taste. Come enjoy the arts and the city of Guanajuato. You will glad you did!