STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

The show was titled “Mexico en el Corazon” and you could tell 1,750 Hispanic residents of the Wood River and Magic valleys had Mexico in their heart.

They sang along, danced in the aisles, waved their cell phones in the air, their flashlights hitting the rafters of the pavilion, and even cried tears of joy as dancers and musicians representing the states of Guanajuato, Yucatan and Jalisco took to the stage of the Sun Valley Pavilion Wednesday night.

The red and green folk dress of Guanajuato and the ribboned mariachi dresses of Jalisco colored the Pavilion as representatives of Ballet Folclorico Guadalajara, the Mariachi Mexico en el Corazon and Banda Colores performed dances rooted in Mexico’s indigenous people, their vaquerias and their miners.

Many of those in the audience sang right along with the ballads sung on stage.

There was even a dance performed to the “Orange Blossom Special” commemorating the 1896 completion of the U.S. transcontinental railroad north of Ogden  in Utah.

Typically, the 60 performers who make up Mexico en el Corazon perform in big cities, such as New York, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Sun Valley is perhaps the smallest venue they play.

Mexico en el Corazon was brought to Sun Valley in 2023 by the Sun Valley Museum of Art as part of its mission to try to reach out to all the demographics of the Wood River Valley. As with this week’s performances, every free ticket was snapped up and hundreds of people came wearing Mexican dress and T-shirts, many of them waving Mexican flags.

Some watched the show from the lawn outside the Pavilion since the seats inside were full.

The dances of Central Mexico’s Guanajuato honored the women who worked in the mines a century ago.

Denice Nava Lara had the vision for bringing the show back to the valley after seeing it a couple years ago. And she did so with the help of a multitude of sponsors, including H Property Service, La Cabanita, Hurtado Drywall, Vega Construction Services, El Color de Mi Tierra and Sun Valley Resort.

“This was led and directed by a Mexican family with many Hispanic businesses helping to support it,” said Herbert Romero, who helps support Hispanic endeavors in the valley. “To have it here is huge. Nationwide, politics are bringing division so to have a display of Mexican culture and heritage is counteracting some of the division, bringing together not just Mexicans but those from other countries, as well.”

The performance introduced audiences not just to mariachi music and dance, which is common performed in the valley but to other types of Mexican music and dance, as well.

Indeed, the audience joined in on soulful love ballads. And everyone, it seemed, tapped their foot to the Mexican Hat Dance.

Musicians played some unusual instruments, including a large guitarron Mexicano as well as the more familiar trumpets, violins and harp.

Denise Nava Lara, who took the stage with her husband Ernesto Cisneros and Montserrat Guadalupe Cisneros Nava, had the vision for bringing the show back to Sun Valley.