Fiesta de Reyes Hosts Fifth-Annual Folkloric Competition
Preliminary Rounds Hit the Stage on April 26 and 27; Finale on May 3
Dance troupes from throughout the region will meet and compete during the fifth-annual Fiesta de Reyes Folklórico Competition in historic Old Town San Diego. The annual three-day event will light up the main stage in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park during the last weekend of April and the first Saturday in May. Folklórico is a traditional Latin American dance that emphasizes local folk culture with ballet characteristics.
On Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the children and adult groups will each have 25 minutes to perform their best dances, representing many different regional styles of ballet folklórico. One finalist from the children’s groups and two finalists from the adult groups will be selected to advance to the finals.
A week later, on Saturday, May 3, from 9 a.m. to noon, the six finalists will return to the state park during the Fiesta Old Town Cinco de Mayo event to compete for the folklórico competition title and cash prizes.
The competition is free for the public to attend and will take place in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park.
Something for every musical taste at Cuyamaca College’s Coyote Music Festival
Homegrown live music from seven bands with a diverse mix of styles will be coming to Cuyamaca College with the return of the Coyote Music Festival from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 26.
Now in its sixth year, the free outdoor festival has retained its eclectic vibe, with a host of young talent playing everything from coffeehouse acoustic pop to Tejano rock.
The Coyote Music Festival is the culmination of a semester-long project that teaches students all the production aspects, including planning, auditions, promotions, staging and sound engineering. The class called the Music Industry Seminar is a course so rich in content that students are able to take it up to four times, each year learning a new aspect of putting on an event of the music festival’s scale.
New this year is a vocalist and songwriter on piano: Nick Valentini, a North County product who’s currently attending the University of California at Los Angeles and plays solo under the name, NatiVe.
Three of the acts are making return appearances: the acoustical upbeat sounds of 18-year-old singer/songwriter Raelee Nikole; the electronica music of Digital Lizards of Doom; and the Boondock Brothers, a Hendrix/Zeppelin-influenced trio
Also playing at the Coyote Music Festival are the Tejano band Flower Animals; Mockingbird, whose members include the husband and wife duo of Tara and Diego Alvarado on vocals; and the blues/rock band Rabbit Fever.
Along with the music, vendors selling crafts and a food truck, “Gameday Eats,” will be a part of the festival.