México en el Corazón at Discovery Green

México en el Corazón performs at Discovery Green, September 13, 2019. Image by Jay Dryden.

It was a magical night at Discovery Green.

Friday the 13th was the night of México en el Corazón, a baile folklorico and mariachis tour from Guadalajara. I was nervous, at first, as I always am. Did I promote the event well enough? Would people show up? Would they love it? I enjoy that tension. It's a nervous energy that fuels me to keep working, to keep thinking of what to do better or different next time.

Turnout was spectacular. The lawn in front of the main stage was packed. At one point I took a walk and saw families eating at the Lake House cafe. There were families sitting at the lake behind the stage listening to the music, and families walking down the main White Promenade. Kids played on the playground while parents watched and other people shopped at vendors selling games and light up balloons for kids, or craft items like cactuses and painted vintage mugs. People picked up elotes or hot dogs at the food trucks. On the Jones Lawn it was less packed and people could spread out in front of a screen where the live show was displayed for the spillover crowd. The kids ran around their parents and up and down a little hill in front of Avenida de las Americas.

It feels amazing to experience everything that goes into creating a community through art. It's not just the performers and the countless hours the dancers and musicians have spent practicing, or the costume makers designing and sewing, or the director and the tour manager coordinating everyone's schedule and making sure their needs are met - the food arrives on time, the bus is well maintained etc...

It's not just the sponsors and donors, but also the "connectors," the people who inspire the businesses to give, who make it easy for the two sides - the artists and the businesses - to come together. It's also the park operations employees, the ones who set up the equipment, who take care of the lawn so it's comfortable to sit and play on and care for the gardens and trees so they keep the park cool creating an oasis.

It’s the people who come out, all the generations. It's the parents with tears in their eyes overcome with whatever - pride, memories, beauty, who knows what else? And it's the kids, some who sit enraptured by the performance and others who could care less, but are just happy to play with their cousins. And their parents who are happy to let them be and enjoy themselves.

It's the cop doing double-duty as security who couldn't help but tell me, "This is where I'm from. I'm from Jalisco. I haven't been back in forever but I'm going back in a couple of months. You should go. It's so beautiful. You have to see Lake Chapala. You'll love it." It's the mariachi singer singing first the Mexican anthem and then the United States anthem and the hairs that rose up and the chicken skin that popped out on everyone's arms and the back of their necks, tears in eyes at the power in his voice. It's also the young teens, unselfconsciously singing along loudly to "Tragos Amargos" while their American friend-who had no idea what's going- on watches.

On a personal level, my Spanish came flooding back to me, which felt like a gift. I was able to hold entire conversations. I didn't feel it necessary to translate the Spanish to English and then my thoughts from English back into Spanish. It takes too long to do that and makes me feel uncomfortable. I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be in the world at exactly the right moment. I felt like myself.