ArtYard recently announced its 2025 performing arts season features the extraordinary artistry of Jaime Lozano and Florencia Cuenca, Christian McBride & Ursa Major, SNACKTIME, and Cécile McLorin Salvant.
Today, we are excited to announce three new remarkable additions, including the all-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache, musical virtuoso and former Carolina Chocolate Drop member Leyla McCalla, and the vibrant, Mexican-American-inspired dance troupe Ballet Nepantla.
Flor de Toloache serves up “alt mariachi”
New York City-based Flor de Toloache joins us to perform their rousing mariachi music the evening of Saturday, April 19. They return the following day on Sunday, April 20 to offer an intimate musical workshop and mariachi lesson.
Latin Grammy-winning, Grammy-nominated Flor de Toloache, NYC’s first all-female mariachi is not your typical mariachi. This band has fused mariachi with jazz, R&B, soul, hip-hop, rock, and so much more. Founded in 2008 by Mireya I. Ramos and Shae Fiol, members hail from Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, and the United States, bringing a rich tapestry of cultural influences to their music. Like the legendary love potion from the Toloache flower, Flor de Toloache casts a spell with their powerful vocals and captivating stage presence.
Tickets for the performance are $29.
The workshop will offer participants a behind-the-scenes look at their journey and a lesson in mariachi. The group will perform songs from their repertoire and teach attendees one of their songs. This workshop is for community members 16 and older who play an instrument and love learning new musical genres. The workshop, $25, is limited to 15 participants.
Musical virtuoso Leyla McCalla vibrates with history and global influences
Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla brings her worldly influences to the McDonnell Theater stage in a concert on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Born in New York City to Haitian emigrants and activists, Leyla McCalla finds inspiration from her past and present — her music vibrates with three centuries of history and influences from around the globe. McCalla possesses a stunning mastery of the cello, tenor banjo, and guitar and, as a multilingual singer and songwriter, has risen to produce a distinctive sound that reflects the union of her roots and experience. In addition to her solo work, McCalla is a founding member of Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kia, and Allison Russell) and alumna of Grammy award-winning Black string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Ballet Nepantla: Mística honors ancestors
The weekend after Día De Muertos, award-winning New York contemporary dance company Ballet Nepantla performs its powerful Mística, honoring our ancestors by celebrating the creative and spiritual energies of our indigenous, Afro, and Hispanic roots
Ballet Nepantla fuses classical ballet, contemporary dance, and traditional Mexican Folklórico to create an aesthetic that speaks to the historical, cultural, and social realities of a broader narrative of being Mexican, Mexican American, immigrant, and trans-cultural. Mística commemorates traditions of Día De Muertos and transports the audience into the afterlife through the use of blacklight and Ballet Nepantla’s unique fusion of ballet folklorico and contemporary dance.
