Art as an expression and a responsibility
“I felt powerful on the inside. But on the outside? I used to feel small,” reminisces Arturo Magaña, artistic director of Ensamble Folclórico Colibrí. Continuing, he shares, “That’s why I chose the hummingbird as our mascot. It also fit because the hummingbird is a messenger in Mexican culture…there was so much I want to say and to share.” The company today is known for being nonconforming and is inclusive of all shapes, colors, sizes, and genders; it’s an ambassador of Mexican folk traditions.
Arturo’s journey into his sense of self started as flag bearer, literally, before his family immigrated to the US. When he was very young, he was chosen to bear the flag during the Independence Day celebrations in his hometown of Zacatecas, Mexico. His life until then was spent behind an actual and metaphorical curtain where he would dance, sing, and be the hero to an audience that was comprised of El Chato the dog, Paquito the parrot, and at times his siblings and mom.
Arturo remembers clearly how he only wanted to be a performer—not a male or female artist, just an artist. His mom saw his passion and had him try various art forms. Like many dancers, Arturo was enrolled in ballet classes, which he hated. It was during that time that he encountered a live performance by a folklórico maestro. “I was struck by how untouchable he seemed when he was in front of an audience. It made me want to be an artist—not just learning to be one,” remembers Arturo.
But it was only when he was cheered as the flag bearer that he understood what being a culture-bearer meant: that art was not just expression, but also a responsibility. Years later, he was reminded of this again as flag bearer at the Mexican consulate in the US.
However, the ensuing years, which saw the family immigrate to San Jose, California, were challenging. As a teen, with Arturo coming to grips with who he was, giving up dance meant erasing himself. He found himself following the path of priesthood in a country that did not seem to have a place for his art or for him.
It was a strange twist in his destiny that had him on the road a few months later, when he asked for the car to be stopped so he could use the restroom at a club, and while walking out, he saw a flier inviting people to experience folklórico at the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center. For the first time in the US, he felt like he was looking in the mirror and liking what he saw—people he could identify with, performing what he loved.
“Owning one identity gave courage to own the other, to my own self. I came out to my mom when I got back in the car,” shares Arturo fondly, continuing, “Of course, she was
not surprised.”
He signed up with ProLatino and later Los Lupeños as their lead dancer. He then stayed on as one of the company’s artistic directors for several years. In 2013, Colectivo ALA, a social and support group for non-hetero-conforming Latinos and Latinas, invited Arturo to present folklórico at their anniversary event; this catalyzed the idea of forming his own organization.
Today, Colibrí has an academy, welcoming youth to embrace who they are while getting rooted in Mexican culture. “I am humbled that we are now on the mainstage, not just LatinX or LGBTQ+ stages. Colibrí is part of Pride parades, of course, and recently was invited to the SF Symphony and San Francisco Opera,” remarks Arturo. He continues, sharing that Mosaic America embraced them as part of Silicon Valley’s mosaic from the start. He says, “When we share our culture at their event, we are part of the broader community we are helping to build. I believe in their process that ensures that we need to only show up as ourselves to be American. After all, that is how I, and therefore Colibrí, came to be, by just being brave enough to be our whole selves.”
In times when bravery is not easily summoned, he channels his mother’s poem that reminds him to stay strong:
Recuerda que eres tan fuerte
Como una delicada lirio
Que aunque sea plantada en el desierto
Se mantiene firme y ni el viento más fuerte la puede arrancar
Pues sus raíces son su fortaleza.
Remember that you are as strong
as a tender and delicate lily
And even if it was planted in the desert,
It remains firm and strong, not even a strong wind can yank it out of the ground,
for its roots are its fortitude.