The PASACAT and DanzArts performing arts companies will join forces Saturday, Sept. 14, to present “Mestizaje: Interwoven Identities Between Mexico, the Philippines and Spain.” Above, a male dancer performing the traditional Mexican dance known as Matlachines.PASACAT, a Filipino performing arts company based in National City, has a long history in the region, dating back to 1970.
Ditto for San Diego-based DanzArts, which prides itself in providing “a creative and relevant space for artistic and cultural expression, as well as preserving and raising cultural awareness of Mexico and Spain … through dance and music.” On Saturday, PASACAT and DanzArts are joining forces to present “Mestizaje: Interwoven Identities Between Mexico, the Philippines and Spain.” The two companies will share the stage at the David & Dorothea Garfield Theatre in La Jolla, where they will perform two shows.
Ahead of their groundbreaking artistic collaboration, Anamaria Labao Cabato, PASACAT’s executive director, answered some questions about the upcoming shows. Also answering questions were Patricia Astorga, the artistic director and choreographer for DanzArts, and Joji Ramirez Castro, PASACAT’s dance director and choreographer.With its shared ancestral history, it seems only fitting that a production celebrates the ties that bind the Philippines, Mexico and Spain.
Patricia approached PASACAT for a collaboration in 2018, but PASACAT staff were in the midst of a research tour in the Philippines. Then COVID hit and delayed the collaboration until 2023, when Patricia once again contacted PASACAT for the joint collaboration. We met via Zoom a couple of times to discuss the concept and the repertoire possibilities from folklorico, flamenco and Philippine dance.