History was made for the national Cuecan dancers on November 1st and 2nd, 2013 in Aruaco, Chile. Many dancers have struggled in training and practicing throughout the year for the Campeanato Mundial de la Cueca Chilena, the worldwide championship for Cueca dancers. Cueca is the National dance of Chile, in which the male partner is in pursuit to conquest the fair maiden’s heart. The judges look for quality, neatness and most of all facial expressions, to make the dance come to life. Not only a world record was born, but a long life dream was accomplished for Alexandra Guerra, a senior at Stamford High, who has dedicated the last four years dancing Cueca as a member of a Long Island, NY dance group called Expressiones de Chile (Expressions of Chile). Throughout her four years, her perspective was only to be able to qualify in competing for the world championship. All her effort finally paid off when she entered onto the dance floor of the Campeanato Mundial de la Cueca Chilena as the youngest dancer to win the world championships.
Her passion began as a twelve year old accompanying her mother in 2010 to a party where Cueca dancers came to perform. As the vibrant colors swirled through the air with the lash of a Chilean dress, Guerra came to love cultural dancing. Her mom then signed her up to Expressiones de Chile, and she took part in many Chilean events and dances proudly representing her culture and country throughout the years. Guerra and her dancing partner, Kevin Nilo, won the national championship in New York on July 2013, competing with 4 couples, two from New Jersey, Washington D.C. which qualified them to enter into the Mundial de la Cueca Chilena. It was a huge sacrifice for Guerra, since her dancing group all lived in Long Island, NY. Every Friday for six months, she would take an hour drive up with her mom to prepare for judges by practicing for endless hours. They even went to the Cueca Academy in Chile for 12 days in March 2013 and 10 days in June 2013 to dance 9-10 hours per day to make the dance perfect and passionate. As the date got closer and closer, Guerra and Nilo practiced every day and struggled to keep their Chilean spirits and faith optimistic. Their dance trainer advised that they should never be too confident, because you never know how things will go. They took this advice to heart and continued to practice.
Finally, Guerra and Nilo were ready to take on the challenge, as they watched many beautiful competitors dance throughout the two day competition. It was their time to shine, as Nilo and Guerra smiled not only for the many people watching them live, but because they were so happy to that they didn’t give up, and that they made it this far. Guerra expressed: “I was nervous, at the same time I was anxious. This was one of my dreams, to represent the U.S.A, to represent 50 states, me, myself and I and my dancing partner. I let go of everything when I was on the dance floor. It was the most beautiful feeling that I’ll never forget. It was such a magical moment; I was super emotional as I watched other people dance. I was proud to represent and go so far with my dream. I never thought I’d win, because many others were older and more experienced with competitions. But winning wasn’t the idea. I wanted to have an adventure, the experience, to see others with the same passion that brought us together, in appreciating our culture and country.”