From 04 to 18 September, the Folkloristic Group “Wielkopolanie” participated in the 3rd Latin American Folklore Festival in the Hidalgo region of Mexico at the invitation of the International Latin American Folklore Association. AIFL is an institution associating the culture of the Americas. Mexico is the 63th country visited by “Wielkopolanie” where the folklore of Greater Poland and other regions of the country were presented. In addition to representatives from Peru, Panama, Paraguay, Brazil and Mexico, the group from Poznań, as the only team from Europe, showed the beauty of their national culture and tradition. During the almost two-week stay, “Wielkopolanie” gave 16 concerts and participated in many street parades for the audience of thousands. The concert route was conducted among the charming Mexican cities: Pachuca, Huasca de Ocampo, Huichapan, Real del Monte, Mineral de la Reforma, Pachuquilla, Mexico City, Teotihuacán, Tulancingo, San Salvador, la Casa del Lago and San Agustin Metzquititlan.

The festival showing the culture of six countries began with the official meeting of over 200 artists with the Hidalgo Regional Authorities and the City of San Agustin Metzquititlan. During 16 concerts, on city squares, in cultural centers and in theaters, they delighted crowds of Mexicans with costumes, dance and music that were never seen and heard of in this region of the world. In addition to concerts for the inhabitants of the Hidalgo region, the artists showed folk traditions for preschoolers, school pupils and students. The largest concert of the festival took place on September 15th in the city of Pachuca due to the holiday of the Independence Day of Mexico. In this special day, “Wielkopolanie” presented dances and songs of the Silesian Beskids for several thousand Mexican audience. The mens’ showing-off performances, characteristic of this region, our male part of the group ended with the shout of “Viva Mexico” what delighted the large audience, causing huge applause and a standing ovation.

The festival organizers made sure that the arriving artists could also learn about the culture of Mexico. Dancers and musicians had the opportunity to visit concert cities, learn about their monuments and local traditions, try characteristic dishes and participate in dancing to the sounds of Mariachi music. “Wielkopolanie” also visited the Basilica of Holly Lady of Guadalupe and had the opportunity to learn about the Aztec culture by walking around the Pyramid of the Sun and the Moon in Teotihuacan.
The Latin American Folklore Festival in the Hidalgo region is the largest folklore event in Central America, showing the rich culture of the world and the national heritage of individual countries participating in this event.

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