PHOTO ESSAY

LDS Hispanic Community Celebrates the Light of the World

Photography by Scot Facer Proctor. Text by Maurine Proctor

The LDS Conference Center was alive with music, color, cheering and bursts of applause as the Hispanic community gathered for their cultural celebration Luz De Las Naciones last weekend. With 1500 people involved in the production, and a Conference Center brimming with audience, the center’s stage was made to look ancient American, with Mayan ruins and jungle plants.

Utah has 146 Spanish-speaking wards or branches, but people came also from Arizona, California and Idaho for the show. Participants were urged to bring friends who are not Church members, and one bishop from Idaho brought 27 of his friends to introduce them to the Church.

The production was under Hispanic leadership with producer Israel Gonzales, associate producer, Mary Muller and artistic director Malcolm Botto playing key roles. Headsets were given to English speakers in the audience so they could receive a translation of the evening.

Though many of the participants had never danced before, the production was professional and precise, and as Keith Atkinson, whose background is in entertainment production noted, “I’ve never seen anything more professional than this last weekend.”

The evening began with film clips portraying the destruction in ancient America where people screamed and fires leaped. Then, according to the legends of many of the cultures of the Americas, a white god appeared to them.
Built into the very sensibilities of these cultures are the stories of this Great White God whom some called Quetzalcoatl or feathered serpent.
These stories about the white god have been passed from one generation to another, painted on walls, and interpreted into dances. Some of the evening’s dances were typical of the current culture.
Other dances harked back to a more ancient time. The great, white god of the Americas was just and holy. He gave the people laws and good doctrines.
The Conference Center was a pageantry of color with projections on the walls added to the scenes.
The choir included the voices of young children.
Some of the most reliable historians reported that Quetzalcoatl was the creator of heaven and earth. He is before the dawn of civilization, even before she who has borne children and he who has begotten sons.
Flutes and stringed instruments accompany the choir to give a Central American sound.
The great, white god came after a period of darkness and then disappeared as suddenly as he came. In different cultures, he has different names, but all agree that he performed miracles among them.
With flashing blue scarves and flat-brimmed hats, the dancers are all smiles as they represent Peru. Not all of the dancers for the evening were from the countries they represented. They were learning new dances and clicking their heels as proficiently as if they had grown up this culture.
The dancers threw themselves into their roles—and so did the audience. The Conference Center has rarely had a warmer or more appreciative audience.
Swinging red capes, clapping hands and stamping heels mark the Argentine dance.
Remember these are everyday Latter-day Saints who were just called on to learn dances for the cultural celebration. They look like professionals thanks to their practice and dedication.
The isles of the sea were also represented in the cultural celebration. These boys are doing a dance from Samoa.
Behind these dancers was the rapid, urgent beat of a drum that kept their feet moving in triple time.
The tradition of the Great White God was so strong amongst the Aztecs that when Cortez came with his soldiers, Montezuma initially thought that he was the Great White God returned.
Costumes for this celebration were exotic and impressive. It is no small thing to learn to dance with this kind of headdress weighing you down.
Lights, fog, Mayan warriors in light on the wall—every thing worked together to transport the viewers to Mesoamerica.
Some Indians of northern America believe that many moons ago there came among their people a fair-skinned man in a long, flowing robe. He had a beard and came in peace. He taught them how to live in new ways and respect the earth. His symbols are present in their music, in the beating of their drums and the sound and movement of their dances.
How many yards of material are required to create this colorful dress?
In Guatemala, they dance with machetes.
In Paraguay, a confetti of skirts swing to the music in cascading layers of lace.
The Mexican wedding dance features white costumes in celebration of marriage. The Great White God had tender feelings for little children and their mothers. He taught the important role of mother in the family for it is her privilege to give life into this realm.
This Mexican dance brought very loud cheers from the audience.
Baskets of flowers are carried on the heads of this lovely señoritas
The traditions of the Latino people point to the Great White God and Joseph Smith taught that, in fact, there was a Great White God who actually visited the new world. The Book of Mormon contains the true account of Christ’s visit to the new world. The Book of Mormon is a second witness of Jesus Christ and the gospel he taught.
Jesus Christ visited the Americas, clothed in a white robe, and he stretched forth his hand and commanded that their little children should be brought to him. He took them one by one and blessed them.
The visit of the Light of the World to the people of the Americas is certainly something to celebrate about.