A journey from Aaron Copland's “Quiet City” to Leonard Bernstein's “West Side Story” is only part of La Porte County Symphony Orchestra's latest concert.

“Latin Rhythms” on Saturday at La Porte Civic Auditorium features guest performers Blue Moon Dance, of Portage; Mariachi Acero East Chicago; and Xel-Ha Escuela de Danza, of East Chicago, plus featured orchestra musicians Charles Steck and Kathryn Brtko.

“With our organization and our dance school, our mission is to preserve the Mexican culture and Latino cultures and promote cultural awareness so anytime there's something like that I like to get involved,” said Debra Bolanos, director of Xel-Ha Escuela de Danza.

“We're going to dance two dances from the state of Jalisco. One is ‘The Mexican Hat Dance,' which is very popular. The other is ‘El Son de la Negra.' That's a very popular dance also from the region.

“Those were suggestions I had made to music director Philip J. Bauman because they are well-known through the culture and different people, not just our Mexican culture.”

Xel-Ha Escuela de Danza (www.xelhaescueladedanza.org) traces its roots to Escaramuza Charra Las Villistas, a female horseback riding group founded in the 1970s by Bolanos' mother, Celia F. Martinez, which introduced Mexican folklore dance to its members.

“I'm very proud,” said Bolanos, of East Chicago, about continuing her mother's legacy.

“It's something that I look back and say, ‘Wow.' So many years have passed and we've come this far. We didn't have a studio. We were practicing at church halls and whoever would lend us space. Now we have our own location. It's not huge but it's something that we can call our own.”

Bolanos' family offers help with Xel-Ha Escuela de Danza with daughter Alejandra among the dancers in the company, daughter Mariela helping with designing costumes and getting music from Mexico, and son Salvador assisting with marketing.

“They are very artistic, so we put it all together in a package and it comes out. We pull off some wonderful shows so I'm very proud of that. It's a family thing. It's not just me,” said Bolanos, noting that her late husband, Salvador, was instrumental in creating indigenous headpieces and costumes.

Xel-Ha Escuela de Danza, which offers classes year-round, features a junior group of children ages 6-12 and a senior group of teenagers and young adults between ages 14-20. The performance in La Porte features 10 Xel-Ha Escuela de Danza members including residents of Crown Point and Calumet City, Illinois.

“We don't just focus on dance alone. We focus on the arts, art, the music and the history,” said Bolanos, an alumna of Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, who studied with Ballet Folklorico School of Dance in Mexico City.

“Everything in Mexico and the costumes all have a story behind them.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.