Cultural celebration moves viewers to reflect upon issues of heritage and American identity in “Soy Andina,” a documentary film on traditional Peruvian dance. The featured Peruvian dance group will perform at 7 p.m. today at the Ohio Union.
The name of the film translates to “I am Andean,” and it explores the issues of race and identity within the context of a small, isolated Andean villiage in the hills of Peru.
“Everywhere I go I’m Andean,” said Nelida Silva, the centerpiece of “Soy Andina.” “Being myself links me to others by sharing my culture with them while living in a different place or environment.”
Mitch Teplitsky, a New York producer, followed Silva with a mini-camera during an eight-day festival, “Fiesta Patronal.” Silva hosted the festival and its celebrations of the festival’s patron saint, the Virgin Mary. The festival also incorporates Incan traditions and folklore with the “Death of Hatualpa” as a final tribute to the last Incan king.
Formed in rhythm, dance and an exuberant sense of cultural identity, the film captures Silva’s journey to reunion with the heritage.
“The film explores a universal question,” Teplitsky said. “How do we stay connected to our heritage? Everybody has the story.”
Cynthia Paniagua, a dancer and choreographer from Queens, N.Y., found inspiration in Silva’s work as a folkloric dancer.
“I was inspired by my visits to Peru and their traditional folkloric dance ever since I was a young girl,” Paniagua said. “Dancing allows me to be as American as I am and incorporate my mother’s steps.”
Paniagua will perform a modern dance piece that explores traditional and contemporary dance forms. Silva will perform a traditional folkloric piece, “Para Danzar a la Vida.”
“The steps reflect my personality and inspire me to hold on to both cultures, American and Latina,” Paniagua said. “So many first-generation Latinos deny that they are American because it meant being white. I realize my origins are different, but my country is America.”
“Soy Andina” explores the concepts of race and ethnicity in America and Peru.
“Even though Peru is multiracial and diverse it still openly discriminates, and that is an accepted part of the culture,” Silva said. “It feels the same being an immigrant in America because I am an immigrant in my own country.”
Indigenous culture and people are not accepted within the European-Spanish mainstream society of Lima, Peru. Silva’s Andean community is 15-16 hours away by bus and is considered foreign to urban, white Peruvians. The culture has been isolated for many years and retains a lot of its original Incan folklore and tradition.
“I became interested and involved in Nelida’s community,” Teplitsky said. “I fell in love with the music, dance and sense of community. It was new to me.”
