When May comes around you’ll see an extra spring in the step of the normally placid Sergio Matos, director of the annual Festival Cultural de Mayo for the past 15 years.
“Tickets are selling faster than ever before,” he says of the 17-day event, which kicks off Friday, May 11, 8:30 p.m. with a performance by Los Ballets Jazz de Montreal at Guadalajara’s Teatro Degollado (repeated Sunday, 6 p.m.).
Maybe that’s not so surprising, since this year’s invited region, Quebec, is pumping seven million pesos into the event, and bringing down some highly accomplished artists, including a sizable selection of its métier: circus arts and street performers.
With around half of the 110 presentations planned in city parks, malls, subway stations and on the Sunday “car-free” Via RecreActiva, the festival is really becoming a “people’s event,” Matos says.
“We’ve made many errors along the way but we’re now seeing the kind of festival that we envisioned 15 years ago.”
The May Festival began in 1998 as an event to mark the designation of Guadalajara’s Instituto Cultural Cabañas as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Extending the festival into the provinces has always been a goal of festival organizers.
This year performances are scheduled in Puerto Vallarta, Lagos de Moreno, Tapalpa and Ciudad Guzman, although the vast majority take place in Guadalajara. The “blue-chip” presentations are at the Teatro Degollado (see box right), at very reasonable prices, with no ticket costing more than 250 pesos. Keeping prices accessible is another important aim of the festival. The rest of the events are all free of charge.
Getting adequate funding has always been a struggle, Matos admits, but finally all three levels of government (federal, state and municipal) are supporting the festival. This year’s budget of around 20 million pesos is the highest in the festival’s history.
In addition to the Degollado program, concerts are planned for the Cabañas Institute (Fanfare Pourpour, Saturday, May 12, 9:30 p.m.) and the Fundacion Alvarez del Castillo (Le Trio Hoboken, Thursday, May 24, 8:30 p.m.).
The huge Plaza de la Liberacion hosts many electronic and avant garde bands on festival nights, although a wider and more mature audience will no doubt appreciate the gregarious Fanfare Pourpour, an 18-member band from Montreal that plays danceable, jazzy music, scheduled in the plaza on Sunday, May 13, 8 p.m.
For those who prefer the tranquility of the city’s delightful churches, the Templo de San Agustin, Templo de Santa Rita and Templo Aranzazu host classical recitals with leading local musicians on May 21, 22 and 23, respectively, all beginning at 8:45 p.m.
There’s a lively variety of entertainment for energetic denizens out and about on the Via RecreActiva on Sunday, May 20. The Parque de San Jacinto sees Theatre Biscornu perform at 10 a.m. and mime Alberto Stanley at 10:30 p.m. In the Parque de la Revolucion (Vallarta and Juarez), Les Foutoukours entertain at 11 a.m. and Duop Hoops at 11:30 a.m. Circo Dragon and Lol Brothers are scheduled at noon and 12:30 p.m. at the intersection of Chapultepec and Libertad, while Colectivo Las Gueras close out the morning’s fun at 1 p.m. at the Glorieta Minerva.
Around 7 p.m. that evening, in the Plaza de la Liberacion, you can catch the ingenious performances of all these circus arts groups, as well as others, in a three-hour marathon potpourri. This could well be the highlight of the festival.
Other festival events include a series of short films from Quebec, playing from May 11 to 27 (starting 6 p.m. each evening) at the Tren Ligero (subway) station at Federalismo and Juarez.
DEGOLLADO SCHEDULE
Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal
Friday, May 11, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 13, 6 p.m. 100-200 pesos An internationally acclaimed, 40-year-old dance and contemporary ballet troupe.
Les Violons Du Roy
Tuesday, May 15 8:30 p.m. 90-150 pesos Renowned Quebec City chamber orchestra of 17 instrumentalists play Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons.”
Alain Caron Band
Saturday, May 19, 8:30 p.m. 100-200 pesos This award-winning Canadian jazz artist has released more than 20 albums and played and recorded with many greats.
Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra
Sunday, May 20, 12:45 p.m. 100-200 pesos Conducted by director-in-waiting Alondra de la Parra and featuring Quebecois Alexander Da Costa on violin, the JPO perform pieces by French composers Edouard Lalo and Claude Debussy.
I Musici De Montreal
Tuesday, May 22, 8:30 p.m. 90-150 pesos Highly-rated 15-piece string chamber music orchestra play works by Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
Les 7 Doigts De La Main
Friday, May 25, 8 p.m., Saturday, May 26, 8 p.m. and Sunday, May 27, 6 p.m. 120-250 pesos Acclaimed Cirque du Soleil-style performance artists should put on three spectacular shows.