To represent the Healthy and Happy Life Group of the National Sports Secretariat (SND) in cultural, folkloric, and sports events, senior citizens attending the institution’s Sports Schools are intensifying their rehearsals to form a folk dance group.
In an effort to promote Paraguayan culture and folklore, the SND took a significant step by supporting and promoting the formation of the folk dance ensemble within its activities for the Healthy and Happy Life Senior Citizens Group. The initiative aims to rescue and preserve traditions through dance, thus combining physical activity with the promotion of national culture.
For this year, the ensemble plans to participate in festivals across the country, as well as in Asunción. Additionally, they have already received invitations to participate in international festivals in Argentina.
With this initiative, the National Sports Secretariat not only promotes physical activity and well-being, but also contributes to the preservation and dissemination of the rich folkloric culture of Paraguay.
Griselda Riveros, dancer and dance teacher, shared the motivation behind this project, and why she volunteers to lead the group, expressing her strong belief in the importance of promoting and preserving cultural roots through the art of dance.
“We do sports and we bring dance and culture,” he said, highlighting the group’s dual objectives. According to her, this type of traditional dance is being lost, and that is why the members of the workshop are not only dancers, but also cultural promoters who seek to keep the tradition alive.
he idea of forming a cast arose last year, together with the instructor of the dance therapy classes, Norman Fernández, in charge of the Healthy and Happy Life Seniors group, who proposed the idea.
Since then, the group participated as a cast in several festivals, carrying high the name of the cast “Healthy and Happy Life.” The first official presentation was in 2023, in San Juan organized by the National Sports Secretariat, and since then they have not stopped receiving invitations to participate in national events.
Riveros highlighted that, apart from the Healthy and Happy Life cast, there is only one group of older adults who perform this type of traditional dance and it is the ballet of the Municipality of Asunción.
