A Flamenco Offering for Cesar Chavez in Highland Park
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Dancer and choreographer Briseyda Zárate honors civil rights icon Cesar Chavez with a flamenco performance.
Title: Flamenco Ofrenda to Civil Rights Leader Cesar Chavez
Dance, Choreography and Concept: Briseyda Zárate
Muralist: Daniel Cervantes
Videographer: Tiana Álvarez
Originally Presented: July 23, 2020
About the Artist
Briseyda Zárate is a self-described “Mexicana/Xicana Bailaora.” She hails from Delano, California, where her family, originally from Michoacán, settled. Zárate chose to pay homage to Cesar Chavez because she is “proud to be a direct result of his struggle for civil rights.” To her, flamenco is a perfect way to do that because it is “a cry for freedom …. from the struggles of Gypsies, African Moors and Sephardic Jews facing racist oppression …. It is also my cry for freedom.” She adds, “With my dancing I honor all my ancestors and thank them for the resiliency and beauty that they’ve passed on to me.”
