When the Verges Procession Association received an invitation from the Ramon Llull Institute to represent Catalonia at the 36th Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico, the decision to participate was made unanimously in an assembly. It was highlighted what an immense pride it was for a town of 1,200 people like Verges to represent Catalonia at such a prestigious festival. This marked the first time the Dance had been performed outside of Spain, following two appearances in Madrid and one in Girona.
Guanajuato is a Mexican city declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its historic center filled with crowds eager to see the Dance’s performance. On October 14, 2008, at nine in the evening, the Dance of Death began its first performance at the festival, generating great excitement among both the public and the accredited media. The second performance took place on October 15, following the same route and achieving the same success as the previous day.
On October 14, the Dance of Death of Verges was featured on the front pages of major state and national newspapers such as Reforma, El Universal, and El Correo.
A sepulchral silence from the large audience accompanied the Dance as it passed through the streets and the square surrounding the Church of San Roque. In Guanajuato, the traditional “street of snails” was also recreated, where the path, illuminated only by torches and snail-shell oil lamps, struck fear into more than one attendee.
Joseph Bargalló, president of the Ramon Llull Institute, stated that the Dance of Death was the perfect element of Catalan culture to represent Catalonia in Mexico, a country with a profound veneration for death and where one of its main festivities is the “Day of the Dead” on November 2nd.
All media outlets, both Catalan and Mexican, have highlighted the success of the Dance’s performance.
Cervantino Festival of Guanajuato.
