Nineteen local Folklorico dancers recently competed in Pomona, California with one of the groups bringing back a top award.

Organizer/instructor Norma Torres-Manriquez said they competed with four different pieces, in three different categories … “And guess what?” Manriquez asked rhetorically, “We brought home one First Place win.”

This was the first trip to any type of competitive event in years for the local Folklorico troupe.

“I had not taken any of our teams to competitions since 2006,” she said, “so it was very exciting to be able to experience the competition world after so long.”

The event was held over the weekend of June 3 and 4, and featured over 360 dancers, about 200 entries, and 12 different Folklorico groups, most of them from the LA area, Manriquez said.

“We were the only Central Valley group,” she noted. “I’m very proud of the kids, of Daisy’s (her daughter) beautiful choreography, and the help she got from both the kids and the parents of group members. It was truly a team effort,” Torres-Manriquez added.

Her group that won competed in the small group category, ages 9-13, with a piece called “La Sonaja” from the state of Michoacan.