El Puente: Bridging Cultures
Interview with Zarco Guerrero
Cultural Coalition will be celebrating the 9th year of our El Puente Festival, with a live stream of performances pre-recorded at the Tempe Pedestrian Bridge in front of the Tempe Center for the Arts. This year’s festival has been curated to highlight performances by various youth groups including cultural dance troupes and local music ensembles.
The parade crossing of the bridge, el puente, will continue as part of our festival tradition. Led by Zarco Guerrero, and accompanied by many of his sculptural creations, masks, oversized puppets, and most significantly, the Flying Serpent Quetzalcoatl [Ket-zahl-koh-ah-tlh]. Many people are aware that “puente” is the spanish word for bridge, and Cultural Coalition’s desire to create connections through sharing culture is a cornerstone to all we do. But the crossing, and the inclusion of the “feathered serpent” has meaning as well. We spoke with Cultural Coalition Zarco Guererro to learn more about this tradition, and the significance of having Quetzalcoatl as a processional sculpture in the closing parade.
Cultural Coalition: Is the symbolism of a bridge something that is common, or something you have been drawn to in your studies of indigenous cultures?
Zarco Guerrero: A bridge is a metaphor for crossing over, rebirth, transformation and connection. In today’s world, the bridge is a symbol for crossing borders and overcoming barriers. It’s a universal symbol and not necessarily indigenous.
CC: What is the significance of including the Quetzalcoatl, feathered serpent, as part of the parade?
ZG: The Significance of Quetzalcoatl – which literally means ‘precious serpent’ – is a symbol of ancient knowledge. We’ve created this new tradition to share the concept of practicing the wisdom of our ancestors: to live in harmony with ourselves, our neighbors and with our environment.
CC: Since the public cannot take part in the parade over the bridge with you and Cultural Coalition this year, what are your wishes for those who will be watching the live stream event?
ZG: As with all our festivals, we want to create venues for our performers to share their talents with the community at large. Our wish for our virtual audiences is for them to experience the diversity of our great city and to be inspired by the youth, their commitment and hard work that our artists and students exhibit in their performances.
Culture is an expression of our humanity that brings people together to celebrate our differences and dwell on our commonalities.
Tune in to Cultural Coalition’s Facebook and Youtube Channels on May 23, 2021 at 2 p.m. to experience this bridging of cultures with El Puente Festival.
