‘India, Mexico share common cultural thread’

9th Amritsar International Folk Festival

Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 3

On their third visit to the city, folk artistes from Mexico, who are part of the group called Espiritu Mexicano said the city felt like home. “The warmth and the great sense of culture and traditions that are celebrated here are amazing,” said Arturo Javier Salazar Martinez, the manager of the group and a senior folk artist.

The music and dance troupe from Mexico enthralled audience with their peppy, colourful and dramatic performances during the 9th Amritsar International Folk Festival held at Khalsa College of Education (KCE) here on Monday. They rocked the stage with their native musical presentations as the festival witnessed a fusion of Mexico and Punjabi folklore, depicting cohesion of two unique cultures.

The festival is organised every year by the Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC), in collaboration with Punjab Cultural Promotion Council (PCPC). Performing their traditional dances, the artistes said like Punjabi folk, they too had a culture of celebrating every occasion with music and dance. “We have dance forms for weddings and festivities. So, we have a common thread when it comes to culture,” said Alvarez. Their association with the city and Khalsa College has become a tradition of its own.

The troupe also performed an impromptu lively dance with students of Khalsa College as they performed gidda-bhangra and Mexican dance fusion to dhol beats. The popular forms of Mexican folk dances, including “El Huizache”, “El Jarabe Tapatio”, one of the most popular in world, were also staged during the presentation.

An exhibition of Punjabi folk art was also organised. Guest of honour Bhupinder Singh, DIG, Border Security Force, said such inter-cultural interactions provided opportunities to understand diverse cultures and traditions, which are a part of the education.

On the occasion, Khalsa Heritage Awards were given to singer Lakhwinder Singh Wadali, PPS officer Jasdeep Singh, Dr Harpreet Kaur, Simranjit Singh Khalsa, Col HS Grover (retd), Kulbir Singh Brar, Tejinder Singh Khalsa, JS Gill (posthumously) and Gurinder Singh Mehrok.