This article was written by Sopris Sun youth reporter Vivienne Shapiro.
“Maybe they come shy to the first class and cry. But after a few years with me, give them the microphone,” Francisco “Paco” Nevarez-Burgueño told The Sopris Sun. “[It] can be 3,000, [or] five people in front of them, and they’re not afraid. Their self-esteem is so high.” The pride he holds for his students is unwavering.
When Nevarez-Burgueño speaks about his career, his passion is so palpable you can practically hear the scuffle of shiny black shoes and the wisping of embroidered fabric rippling through a hushed backstage as Folklórico dancers step out from behind the curtain to perform in Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s (ASFB) Nutcracker — the only Nutcracker in the world featuring traditional Mexican dance.
For 23 years, Nevarez-Burgueño transformed the lives of countless students in the Valley through ASFB’s Folklórico program. He helped young participants embrace their culture, ambition and creativity the same way he was taught as a child, taking much inspiration from his dance teacher, Leonor Avalos Zaragoza, in Chihuahua. “She was so good and passionate,” he said. “She was demanding … She was hard … She was the one who gave me all of this knowledge about folklórico, about dances I love.”
The Roaring Fork Valley is different from when Nevarez-Burgueño first arrived, and he’s driven part of that change himself. Think about Carbondale’s annual Día de los Muertos celebration, for instance, when the community gathers under a dark sky to admire the spectacle of Folklórico dancers and mourn the loss of loved ones. Día de los Muertos is a mix of ancient Aztec, Toltec and Nahua tradition, rooted in the idea that death is not the end of existence but a new chapter. Locally, it provides a moment when cultural distinctions fade away.
“When I came here, I saw the needs of these kids to develop their talents,” explained Nevarez-Burgueño. “I want to say there was too much segregation.” Twenty-three years later, he describes Día de los Muertos as a melting pot. “It’s not only Latinos in the street. It’s Anglos and Latinos together. I think that’s the only festivity we have in town where everybody comes together.”
While connecting with their community benefits his students, he also recognizes that it’s vital for them to have a greater understanding of the world. The Folklórico program offers once-in-a-lifetime international travel opportunities, allowing participants to perform on stages around the globe. Nevarez-Burgueño’s motive for these trips isn’t just about sharing art, but experiencing the beauty of other cultures as well as seeing poverty firsthand. He considers this essential, so students can grow into empathetic and aware adults.
“One of the boys was telling me, ‘Here in Carbondale, Paco, we’re going to 7-Eleven and we choose whatever we want — different chips, different kinds of sodas. Over there? Nothing … No gas; people walking in the highways, like from here to Glenwood.’” He continued, “It makes you feel so fortunate …16 years old and he realized, ‘Gosh, we have everything here in the United States. My parents worked so hard for me to have [this].’”
The Folklórico program has been a vital, free resource in the Valley, and essential to its creative and culturally diverse community. It is with a heavy heart that the local program will, more than likely, lower its final curtain coinciding with Nevarez-Burgueno’s retirement later this year. The longtime Folklórico director made the difficult decision so he could move back to Mexico to care for his mother. While many have suggested finding a new director, he claimed that only his own students would be qualified to lead and he wishes for them to attend universities and chase bright futures instead.
Additionally, the program has faced significant financial challenges, including the loss of essential funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. “Now, with this administration we have right now in this country, [it’s become] so difficult,” Nevarez-Burgueño stated. “I don’t want to get political on this, but that’s the reality.” He added, “For us Latinos, it’s been hard.”
While the future of the local program is in jeopardy, the Santa Fe branch of ASFB’s Folklórico program, which was inspired by Nevarez-Burgueño’s leadership, continues to thrive, according to an ASFB press release.
As the interview came to an end, it was apparent that that familiar scuffling of shoes and wisping of skirts would cease in the Valley. But perhaps the greater loss is the one felt by his students.
When asked, “What would you most like your students to remember about you?” He looked down at his hands and back up, quiet tears coming from his eyes. “I want them to remember me as a good person, for them,” his voice broke. “Like I remember my teacher.”