Monica Ascencio
In “La Rumba No Para” Andrea Rodriguez told stories of her ancestors in the Mission District, incorporating personal memories and cultural celebrations local to the San Francisco neighborhood. The performance began with Aztec dance; the dancing created a feeling of energy flowing through the space, a flow that is a fundamental element in a Mission celebration. Rodriguez used projection and video as reflections of her desires to explore Latin music, such as salsa and percussion, and learn the dance movements of each in the San Francisco dance communities.
Different dances were separated by, or included, pictures and videos of her ancestors and anecdotes with four main sections: Love, Loss, Addiction, and Healing. This salsa love story about growing up in San Francisco featured original music composed by Asdru Sierra, and live music by Elena de Troya, rap artist UvaUvv, Poppin legend Prince Ali. “La Rumba No Para” was a work-in-progress of Rodriguez’s personal experience in the Mission District. The dancing sought to bring into the Theater the feeling of bliss present at such Mission festivals as Carnaval and Cinco de Mayo.
Monica Ascencio is from San Francisco. She is an active dancer and performer of Brazilian, Latin, and Spanish dance. Her passion for dance and serving the community through the arts is what brought her to ODC, where she has worked since 2013. She hopes to keep inspiring people to dance as an ODC staff member and a Latina dancer in the Bay Area.
Andrea Rodriguez Dances A Love Letter To The Mission District was originally published in ODC.dance.stories on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.