Even beyond the artistry displayed, there was something poetically beautiful about the Grupo Infantl folklórico dancers from the Universidad de Colima coming to play at Tucson High School last night.

In a sense it was all coming full circle. So much of Tucson’s love of folklórico comes from the Universidad de Colima when a young dancer named Angel Hernandez came to Tucson in the 1970s to teach at Pima College. A college roommate of current University de Colima dance director Maestro Rafael Zamaripa, Hernandez’ love of Mexico’s regional dance and Pied Piper charisma drew young Tucson dancers like moths to a flame, and ignited our community’s love affair with this extraordinary art form.

Now to see these deftly accomplished young dancers on the Tucson High School stage, where the tradition of folklórico dance goes back over 40 years, ushered in a new era of even more direct crosstalk between the two dance communities.

Featured here are a few dances from the group’s home state of Colima, backed by Tucson’s own Mariachi Sonido de Mexico.

If you missed them, look for them at the Espectacular Concert of the Tucson International Mariachi Conference this Friday, April 28, or at the Fiesta Garibaldi celebration the next day.