University News Last updated 28 March
BMus fourth-year student and Mexican American Michelle Amezcua performed her final project México Mágico in the Bradshaw Hall recently. During the performance, Michelle was joined on stage by the Ambassador of Mexico to the UK Josefa González, who later gave a speech on the cultural traditions of Mexico.
México Mágico is Michelle’s multi-media project made up of dancers, musicians and storytellers who have been working together since September 2024. The aim of the project is to “encapsulate the feeling of Mexico and share it with audiences of all ages,” says Michelle.
To this end, Michelle worked with Year 7 students from Foxford Academy in Coventry and Sixth Formers from Arnold Lodge School in Leamington Spa to perfect their Spanish and prepare them as presenters for the show.
Also involved were Mexican folklore dance group This is Mexico!, the ITZATNA arts collective and RBC student musicians who performed pieces by Mexican composers to accompany the storytelling.
Michelle hopes her project will be performed in other venues across the West Midlands and even nationally to share Mexican culture and traditions with as many people as possible.
The performance of México Mágico unfolded with an old Mexica-Nahua legend sharing how music came to Earth. The story goes that sky god Tezcatlipoca sends wind god Quetzalcoatl to the sun god Huitzilopochtli, who is the only god to have musicians, to take these musicians to Earth to spread music across the planet. In a similar vein, Michelle would like to spread Mexico’s rich culture to audiences across the region.
Michelle explained: "The Conservatoire gave me the resources and opportunity to create this project. I have loved the journey of getting to meet new people and work with my close friends to create México Mágico. I hope to continue to explore my cultural roots and to share them with people of all ages through the arts."
Josefa said: “In a difficult world, our musicians become Ambassadors for Mexico, creating peace and love. I hope this can have a domino effect; by sharing Mexican legends and music we can have an impact on our local communities and even the world.”