Jessica Lopez and Celeste Goedel dance in the Living Legends Mexican number “Mariachi, La Negra.”
Cloudless skies, bright sun, and picturesque nature scenes will all be part of the Living Legends tour this year. Starting on April 29, the group will travel to Brazil, where they will perform in São Paulo, Paulínia, Campinas, Curitiba, Foz do Iguaçu, Goiânia, Brasília, and Manaus.
Living Legends will share Polynesian, Native American, and Latin American cultures through dance and music. Additionally, the group will perform a Brazilian number, “Carimbó,” a dance that originates in the north of Brazil and has native Brazilian, African, and Portuguese heritage. “It will help make the show more relatable to them by seeing familiar content,” says Living Legends stagehand Ioane Camacho. “It’s important to have representation in the narrative of the show because it helps the audience put themselves into that story and helps them feel connected and important.”
Some of the anticipated events include a free outdoor street performance under the innovative architecture of the Museum of Art of São Paulo. A few days later, Living Legends will become the first BYU group to perform at Foz do Iguaçu, a Brazilian city bordering both Argentina and Paraguay known for being near the majestic Iguaçu Falls. This performance will celebrate the opening of the first stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the area. Church members and representatives from Paraguay will be in attendance. “The Church members there have worked diligently for many years to get to where they can open up a new stake,” says Camacho. “To add to that with the narrative of the Book of Mormon from our show will help bring more unity and life to the Brazilian members in that area as well as connect them with other members of the Church in Paraguay.”
