The 53rd edition of the Cervantino will "break with traditional patterns": Claudia Curiel

▲ The Wayne McGregor Company will present Deepstaria at the State Auditorium. Photo by Ravi Deepres

Reyes Martínez Torrijos

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 5, 2025, p. 4

The 53rd edition of the International Cervantino Festival (FIC), which will take place from October 10 to 26 in the capital of Guanajuato, focuses on the work and dialogue of international artists and companies with Mexican creators.

With the United Kingdom and Veracruz as the guest countries and states, 140 performances will take place over the 17 days of the festival, featuring 3,458 artists from 31 countries and localities across the country.

Claudia Curiel, head of the federal Ministry of Culture (SC), mentioned in a press conference yesterday that this year's event is breaking away from traditional conventions and focusing on collaborative work. It is committed to a fresh and contemporary vision of local, national, and international creativity based on dialogue and collaboration .

At the launch of the program at the Palace of Fine Arts, the official added that the festival's goal is for international artists to work closely with local and national artistic bodies .

He highlighted that the FIC will bring together internationally renowned proposals such as Angélica Liddell, Hotel Pro Forma, the performance opera Sun & Sea , winner of the Golden Lion at the 58th Venice Biennale, the legendary band Sun Ra Arkestra, Kaoru Watanabe and Bloodlines Interwoven.

Curiel confirmed the return of large-scale opera to Bellas Artes with Elektra , by Richard Strauss, while the Bellas Artes Chamber Orchestra will premiere five commissions by Latin American composers: Paulina Monteón (CDMX), Melissa Vargas (Colombia), Estrella Lucero Gómez (Veracruz), Sonia Rodríguez (Guanajuato) and Cecilia Pereyra (Argentina).

Monumental Fandandgo

The festival's opening, on October 10th on the esplanade of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, will be a monumental Fandango, with the participation of Caña Dulce and Caña Brava, Mono Blanco, Son de Madera and the percussion ensembles of Xalapa and Harpas de Huesca.

He also discussed John Zorn's Bagatelles concerts with Sam Eastmond and the London Sinfonietta, conducted by Jonathan Berman, which will pay tribute to Julián Carrillo and perform repertoire by Gabriela Ortiz and Silvestre Revueltas.

Other notable groups on the program include Stellar Quines Theatre Company, which explores the struggle for liberation of the African-American community in the United States, and the Wayne McGregor Company.

The closing ceremony will feature the FIC-UK co-production of the Africa Express concert, which brings together Damon Albarn and 60 artists from Mali, Uganda, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, the United States, France, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

Curiel reported that the festival's total budget is 290 million pesos, representing a 60 to 70 percent increase in production; 150 million pesos were contributed by the institution he heads.

Present at the presidium were Governors Libia Dennise García Muñoz Ledo of Guanajuato and Rocío Nahle of Veracruz, as well as Valeria Palomino, head of Cultural Circuits and Festivals of the SC; Samantha Smith, mayor of Guanajuato; and Romain Greco, executive director of the FIC, among others.

In her remarks, Susannah Goshko, British Ambassador to Mexico, mentioned that through music, theater, dance, and ideas, attendees will learn more about the close ties that have united the two nations for more than 200 years.

Musician and activist Brian Eno will give a lecture on what it means to make art, music, and visual explorations through a sustainability lens.

The European country's lineup includes more than 110 artists and 12 international performances: film, dance, music, photography, and an academic program to inspire new generations. Beyond the numbers, what we bring are stories of collaboration .

Goshko emphasized the London Sinfonietta concert, in tribute to the conductor and composer Julián Carrillo, in a kind of journey through different centuries and styles .

There will also be a recital by Celtic Connections, a group of Celtic musicians who will join Veracruz soneros in a fandango that promises to be unforgettable, and the stellar presentation of the Wayne McGregor dance company, with the work Deepstaria, and the staging led by the choreographer Ooda Doherty, whose works on the body, gender and identity have shaken the European scene .

Speaking about the closing show, Africa Express said it was a historic moment and the culmination of a collective creative effort that had been brewing for several years, led by one of the most iconic musical figures in the UK today, Damon Albarn .

Singer Julieta Venegas will perform a concert with the University of Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra, and tenor Javier Camarena will be accompanied by the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra.

In preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Diego Rivera House Museum, an exhibition will be held on the muralist's connection with Veracruz, including 14 works by the artist from the collections of the governments of that state and Orizaba.

Details of the complete program can be found at festivalcervantino.gob.mx.