On October 10, Grupo Musical Canela flew out all the way from our sister city in Tlaquepaque, Mexico, to share and celebrate their culture through a packed and passionate performance. 

   The group started their show with a bang, bringing us into their culture with various traditional songs from Mexico and other Latin American countries.

   The songs were energetic and full of heart, immediately hooking the audience with their energetic usage of an accordion, violin, flute, and even whistling as an instrument. 

   They later went on to play music from Disney’s “Encanto” and a cover of Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” but the biggest surprise were the Catrinas that emerged from behind the curtains mid show to sing and dance along.

   La Catrina is an important piece of Mexican culture, being the female skeleton adorned with colorful hats and feathers, most commonly associated with Day of the Dead. 

   One was dressed in a black maxi dress with an elegant mesh underneath; the other wore a vibrant, bouffant gown full of pinks, oranges, and purples, bringing a strikingly beautiful contrast to the performance. 

   What made this whole show possible, however, was the organization Springfield Sister Cities Association. The group expressed strong gratitude towards them for such an opportunity. 

   “Thank you so much for inviting us. We’re gonna be in collaboration with Springfield Public Schools and we’re very happy to be here,” band member Eugenio Romero Levya said.

   The Springfield Sister Cities Association is a local nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote further awareness of Mexican culture by connecting cities from across the nation.

   Springfield is partnered with Tlaquepaque, Mexico, as well as Isesaki, Japan, through this program. This allows for what they call “peace through people” done through various social activities and events, bringing everyone from these diverse cultures together. 

   Aside from their at-school performance, Grupo Musical Canela also performed at the DoubleTree on Glenstone Avenue a few days later, on October 13.

   Admission tickets for this event were 50 dollars, raising funds to celebrate Day of the Dead with another captivating musical performance as well as art by Tlaquepaque artist Andrea Romero. 

   Given the opportunity to pull us into their culture through such lively performances, Grupo Musical Canela was more than excited to visit us here in Springfield, Missouri.