Church School in Mexico Celebrates Anniversary

Some three thousand Latter-day Saints in Mexico City recently joined with the eighteen hundred students of the Church-sponsored preparatory school, Benemerito de las Americas, to celebrate its twenty-third anniversary.

The school’s anniversary was observed during Cultural Week, with programs of drama, sports, music, and spiritual instruction. A highlight was the dance program of the school’s Ballet Folklorico. Since the ballet was instituted thirteen years ago, the young dancers tour regularly; they have performed in many parts of Mexico and in the United States.

The dance company consists of seventy students between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, and six sound, lighting, and electrical technicians.

In all, thirty-one dances were presented, representing the areas of Yucatan, Puebla, Chiapas, Guerrero, Campeche, Veracruz, Norte, and Jalisco. Dances and costumes of the prehispanic era were also included.

The week culminated in a ceremony at which Elder Gene R. Cook, President of the Mexico/Central America Area and a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, delivered an address. He then presented certificates to outstanding students.

Francisco Javier Barron Rodriguez, director of the school, directed the week’s activities.