que bonito amor and Mambomania

San Diego Ballet celebrates the Latin soul with the return of two audience favorites on one program. Audiences will be swept away by the evocative and romantic QUE BONITO AMOR, set to a rapturous score of mariachi music, and MAMBOMANIA, one of artistic director Javier Velasco’s sizzling signature works.

Director’s Notes:
We are thrilled that the San Diego Museum of Art has asked us to partner with them again this season. Especially since it allows us to develop new programming for both organizations. Our first show is aligned with SDMA’s inaugural Dia De Los Muertos Celebration. Día de los Muertos is a meaningful time for so many people in our community. I have to admit though, growing up, it was not one for me. With its visual focus on cemeteries, skeletons, and death, it can come off to the uninitiated as a sort of Mexican Halloween. Nothing is further from the truth. It is a remembrance and celebration of loved ones who are no longer with us… and as we get older, that number increases. An important part of the holiday is building an altar to those friends and family. This particular pairing of Que Bonito Amor and Mambomania, while being one of our most popular programs, has always been a bit of an altar to my parents. While Mambomania was inspired by the colorful, energetic hi-fi record jackets of my dad’s favorite mambo bands, Que Bonito Amor sprang from a cousin’s wedding, where my mom and I waltzed the night away to the joyous whirl of mariachi’s. These two ballets have continue to bring the spirit of my parents back to me, especially at the end of Las Golondrinas, when the female dancers are launched into the air like the namesake swallows, who also return year after year.” – Javier Velasco