Joaquín Encinias Talks "Xicano Power"
Yjastros rehearsing the “Xicano Power” concert at UNM’s Carlisle Gym on February 15, 2023.
This week Yjastros and NIF staff will be hopping on a plane to Madrid and then boarding a train to Jerez de la Frontera to make history as the first Flamenco dance company from the United States to perform at the prestigious Festival de Jerez, now in its 27th year.
The festival, which runs from February 25 to March 11, will host 44 different performances and over 30 workshops. On February 28, Yjastros will take the stage at Museos de la Atalaya and perform their new concert “Xicano Power.”
We sat down with Yjastros’ Artistic Director Joaquín Encinias to talk more about the significance of this trip and the concert itself.
“My name is Joaquín Encinias, artistic director of Yjastros. The name Xicano Power, is one of the pieces in the show, and was choreographed in 2004 by Israel Galván. I utilized that piece because of its significance, artistically, from Israel. It’s an iconic piece in our repertory.
Secondly, I think it demonstrated what the repertory process was for us early on in our company. I wanted to demonstrate that. Next, I also am a Xicano. I am from New Mexico. So I chose to utilize that piece, Xicano Power, as the name of the show and an iconic representation of who we are as dancers and artists.
“It's not necessarily just a race thing for me, it's a cultural thing. It's identifying with a people group, not necessarily a DNA or race type of thing, and so I think it also does speak about Yjastros, the company, as well.
“You really can't speak about Xicano, the word Xicano and the Xicano Movement and where the word Xicano comes from in that time without speaking about this poem [Yo Soy Joaquín] from this man named Corky Gonzales who wrote this poem in 1967. It really did spark a lot in the Xicano Movement at that time. It's something that if we were going to utilize this name, I felt it was important that we at least do some contextualization of what we're talking about.
“Because we're going to be in Spain and share this project that's here in a hotbed of Xicano culture and New Mexican culture, I thought it would be appropriate to utilize a lot of the imagery, and actually speak a lot of the poetry in the show. But, mainly be inspired by all of the wonderful imagery. It's an incredible piece of work, and you could do five shows based on that poem. So I hope to do it justice.
“It's a huge honor to be presenting in this prestigious [Festival de Jerez]. You know, the significance of having a repertory company here in the United States that is a flamenco-based repertory company, is very unique. I think that's been recognized by many artists and producers around the world, including Spain. I think this is significant in that it's recognizing that long bit of work, about 25 years of work, as far as a company. A repertory format means that we house choreographies of many different choreographers and different artists, and it's a living archive of dance. I'm very proud of that, and I'm proud of this company. I think it's a big honor.” — Joaquín Encinias, February 20, 2023
Here’s a deeper look at the poem “Yo Soy Joaquín” by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales. You can read the poem HERE.
