Cervantino Festival will return in person and virtually

Published July 22nd, 2021

The International Cervantino Festival (FIC) of Guanajuato will return to the on-site modality (although it will also have virtual activities) from October 13 to 31 in its 49th edition, whose ambitious program was presented on Wednesday.

The event, which is one of the five most important interdisciplinary cultural events in the world, according to Diego Sinhue Rodríguez, governor of the state of Guanajuato, at a press conference, will have a hybrid offering of 110 performances, of which 81 will be in person and 29 exclusively online.

“Putting on a festival is a titanic task and everything is done to bring together for 19 days the most outstanding of the national and international art scene, to offer a wonderful break from every day,” said Mariana Aymerich, director of FIC at the presentation event at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

Prioritizing open spaces, but also with shows in the emblematic Teatro Principal and Teatro Juarez with all sanitary measures, the festival will have as guests of honor the same as last year, when a virtual edition was made: Cuba and the state of Coahuila.

The inauguration, which is held every year in the esplanade of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, will be in charge of the Cubans Formell y los Van Van and the Filarmónica del Desierto de Coahuila.

Also in attendance will be the National Dramatic Theater of Chinese Opera and Dance, Tembembe (Colombia) and Tierra Mestiza (Mexico), Mexican singer Tania Libertad, Colombian singer Esteman, Mexican band Porter, Peruvian rappers Liberato Kani, German DJs Resom & Mareena, Argentine string quintet Astor Piazzolla and Le Théâtre des Confettis from Canada, among others.

The representatives of Cuba and Coahuila were very grateful to be able to participate for the second year as guests at the Cervantino, this time in person and with talent from each of the places that will find in Guanajuato a new fusion and take learning with them.

Coahuila will be represented by, among others, Cardencheros de La Laguna, Grupo Escrito, Nahucalli Folkloric Dance Company or Desierto Teatro.

From Cuba, there will be Camerata Romeu, José María Vitier Cuarteto, Argos Teatro, Eduardo Sosa, Alain Pérez Quinteto, Danza Contemporánea de Cuba and many more.

The artists, coming from 20 countries, said the director, add to the common effort and teamwork essential for this edition of FIC to be a success despite the difficulties faced since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“There is no festival more enriching of the human spirit and reason than that in which human beings from different latitudes of the earth come together to exercise their art and share it with those who see and hear them. This dialogue makes us free, discovers feelings of love and solidarity,” Aymerich continued.

FIC, which is one of the four most important festivals of this format, seeks to bring together artists and the public, in addition to providing training and promoting artistic creation.

During the 19 days of celebrations, multiple theaters, plazas, and streets of Guanajuato will function as stages, turning the entire city into a great artistic space.