[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 171 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1053-E1054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GUADALUPE DANCE COMPANY'S FIRST PERFORMANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOAQUIN CASTRO

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 30, 2021

  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I 
rise today in celebration of the Guadalupe Dance Company's 30th 
anniversary of its first performance on September 15, 1991. The 
Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center founded the Guadalupe Dance Company in 
1991 through a collaboration with the City of San Antonio and the 
lnstituto Cultural de Mexico.
  The Guadalupe Dance Company was created to build and promote a 
professionally-trained Mexican Folkloric Dance Company to represent 
South Texas, and has grown to be a premier professional dance company 
in the region.
  The Guadalupe Dance Company was brought to life with cultural 
activists, community leaders and master artists led by then Executive 
Director Pedro Rodriguez. With dancers from in and around the San 
Antonio area, the Company debuted its first performance to

[[Page E1054]]

a full house for the Citysponsored Grito Ceremony on September 15, 1991 
at the Lila Cockrell Theatre.
  In 1994, Maestro Rafael Zamarripa was commissioned to create, 
choreograph and fully stage Rio Bravo, an original production telling 
the story of South Texas through a chronology of dance and music. With 
a cast of over 25 dancers, musicians and stage and film star Jesse 
Borrego, Rio Bravo helped set the course for the dance company. The 
Guadalupe Dance Company continues to create original productions as 
well as its ongoing First Friday events and staple annual productions 
which include Historias y Recuerdos, Dia de los Muertos, Alma de Mujer, 
Pastorela Folklorica and Celebrando Tradiciones.
  The 30th Anniversary Celebration features the Guadalupe Dance Company 
and Mariachi Azteca de America. It will commemorate 30 years of dance, 
success, and evolution with repertoire from various states of Mexico. I 
am proud to honor the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, and its 
remarkable impact on San Antonio, and I look forward for many 
performances to come.

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