Flamenco! Latin Dance In 1930s Chicago.

With its stirring music and elaborate costumes, Latin music and dancing took Chicago — and the nation — by storm in the 1930s. The Chicago Historical Society (CHS) will present a showing of original Latin dance ensembles in the new costume collection exhibition Flamenco! Latin Dance in 1930s Chicago, on view September 6, 2003, through February 15, 2004, at CHS, at Clark Street and North Avenue, Chicago.

Two flamenco performers from the 1930s through the 1950s were Chicago-based Alfredo Cano and Bertha “Rosita” Musquiz who played to sold-out houses across the country, including performances in the Spanish and Mexican villages at Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress Exposition.

Their dazzling costumes, which were theatrical versions of Spanish and Mexican dress, never failed to amaze the crowds. This exhibition of their costumes — which includes fabulous garments such as a man’s bullfighting costume of gold and red satin and a woman’s flamenco dress of yellow satin trimmed with black lace — tells the story of Cano and Musquiz during the heyday of flamenco.

“The history of costume and fashion in Chicago includes wonderful influences from so many cultures, as seen in the beautiful outfits worn by Alfredo and Rosita,” states Tim Long, Collection Manager for Costumes at CHS. “Immigrants coming here brought distinctive clothes that presented their cultural history, which added to the great mix of society in Chicago. We are thrilled to tell Alfredo’s and Rosita’s story through these costumes.”

Cano left his Mexican ranch in 1922 and moved to Chicago to join his cousins and to study Spanish dance. In 1930 he met Musquiz, a native of San Antonio, Texas. Together, the husband and wife team toured the country for over 20 years. Bertha Musquiz Cano donated over 50 of the couple’s costume pieces to the Chicago Historical Society in 1987.

Detailed embroidery, stitching, sequins, rhinestones and tassels accent Rosita’s dresses and Alfredo’s outfits. Also presented in this showing are the hats Alfredo wore and Spanish shawls worn by Musquiz. The Flamenco! display will also show photos of the couple in their various costumes.

All items in this show are from the Chicago Historical Society’s Hope B. McCormick Costume Center, one of the nation’s largest collections of clothing and fashion accessories. Flamenco! Latin Dance in 1930s Chicago opens on September 6, 2003, in the museum’s Costume Alcoves and runs through February 15, 2004, at the Chicago Historical Society.

For more information at http://www.chicagohistory.org