KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Four music and dance groups local to Kansas City showcased their Hispanic cultures at the Chiefs and Ravens game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Grupo Folklórico Izcalli, Grupo Quimbaya KC, Mariachi Estrella KC, and Viva Social Dance Studio (Viva) choreographed performances for a collaborative halftime show.
“We’ve been here for over 20 years, pushing Salsa in this city. Now, we get the opportunity to perform some Salsa and reggaeton here. It’s extra special. I want to thank you guys for working so hard," Josh Hernandez, director of Viva Social Dance Studio, said in a group huddle on Sunday.
Hernandez opened Viva Social Dance Studio, which focuses on Salsa and Latin dances, in Shawnee in 2002.
“I remember those days when you didn’t really hear a lot of Latin music walking around town and most people are asking, ‘What is salsa?’ Now, we’re in a time years later when we have a lot of people that come through, they have salsa dance lessons, they want to learn reggaeton," he said.
Just like any football game, these performances take a lot of practice.
For the past month, director of Grupo Folklórico Izcalli Annel Alvarez, said her dance group added an extra practice to its weekly routine in preparation of the halftime show.
“I feel so honored, but I also feel a lot of pressure because we are representing something that is bigger than ourselves," Alvarez said.
Grupo Folklórico Izcalli is a traditional Mexican dance group. This year is the group's fourth time performing at Arrowhead.
Groupo Quimbaya KC, a Colombian folkloric dance group, and Mariachi Estrella KC, a mariachi band, were the other two groups to perform alongside Grupo Folklórico Izcalli and Viva.
"It just shows how diverse we are, but how beautiful all of our cultures are," Alvarez said.
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