For dancer and stage designer Anahí Galarza Santillán, the connection between the desert and the mountains surrounding Durango and Torreón served as a source of inspiration for the name of her project.
The project was selected in the PECDA Durango 2024 call for proposals and fuses contemporary dance and cardenche singing
The dancer and stage designer Anahí Galarza Santillán develops Ecos del Desierto, a project selected by the Program of Incentives for Creation and Cultural Projects (PECDA) Durango 2024. The work has as its central axis the integration of contemporary dance and cardenche singing, a tradition with deep roots in its region, with the purpose of preserving and recording this cultural expression.
“The project arose from the need to bring my work to a video-dance format. I wanted to create something that reflected not only my career, but also an important part of Durango’s heritage. The cardenche song has few active exponents, and it is urgent to make it visible,” says Galarza Santillán in an interview.
It is also a tribute to the Cardencheras Women, a group that represents a tradition in danger of extinction: “I was deeply shocked to meet them and learn that there are only three women active in this expression, since one of them, Evangelina, recently passed away. That reaffirmed my commitment to preserve them through art,” she says.
For Anahí, the connection between the desert and the mountains surrounding Durango and Torreón served as a source of inspiration for the name of the project: “The echo in these places symbolizes both the persistence of our voices and the reflection of our roots,” she says.
Artistic evolution
A graduate in Contemporary Dance Dance from the Municipal School of Contemporary Dance of Torreón (ESDACONT), Galarza Santillán has collaborated with prominent choreographers such as Ruby Gámez and Jaime Hinojosa, as well as participated in festivals such as Ricardo Castro and the National Circuit of Performing Arts in Independent Spaces Chapultepec 2023.
“My experiences in festivals and residencies have taught me that dance has multiple readings and ways of connecting with the public. This has shaped my way of creating and communicating through movement,” she says.
Her career has focused on the search to transmit a clear message to the viewer, in combination with her interest in issues of identity and cultural memory: “The creative process has changed over the years, and maturity has allowed me to approach the issues in a more reflective and connected way.”
In addition to her artistic work, Anahí is co-director of the Colectiva Transeúnte, a multidisciplinary group that fosters community connection through art: “It emerged during the pandemic and has been a space to explore new ways of connecting and teaching. Balancing my creative work with my role as a teacher is a challenge, but essential to promoting dance in Durango.”
As a teacher at Colegio Valladolid and a teacher at the Revidanza academy, Galarza Santillán is dedicated to training new generations of artists: “My vision is that contemporary dance is accessible and valued by everyone, not only in artistic circles, but in every corner of the community,” she emphasizes.
With Ecos del Desierto and other projects in development, Anahí Galarza Santillán broadens the horizons of contemporary dance in her state and in the country: “Art has the ability to transform realities and preserve cultural memory. My commitment is to continue working so that contemporary dance is a tool for connection and transformation,” she concludes.
Source: gob
