FESTUM means celebration in Latin, and that was the name that TEC de Monterrey decided to give to this show to honor the legacy of the institution under the artistic direction of La Fura dels Baus.
The macro-show was developed over many months of work and pre-production by the artistic director Carlus Padrissa and his team, and Juan Vila, general director of the show by TEC. Together with many professionals of the sector, they were included in the macro project of FESTUM, which was divided into 9 episodes:
1. Countdown: from 80 to 0; from 1943 to 2023
“Where did we begin? What is the origin of what we are? A September 6th, 1943 takes us to a September 6th, 2023,” said the FESTUM program. The event begins with a countdown where 80 relevant TEC events are projected, one for each year of life, to 0.
2. The Triumph of Culture, TEC’s emblematic mural
Emblem of the institution and installed on the façade of the rectory, the mural was designed by Jorge González Camarena. It is recreated in a video mapping animation together with 200 students who recreate the body of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, and the face of Tezcatlipoca, both reconstructed in the form of enormous structures.
3. The navel of the Moon, the curiosity and creativity of the students
In this third act, a student represents a little girl who lets herself be carried away by her curiosity and also rises through the air until she almost reaches the moon. The little girl is accompanied by a dialogue between TEC teachers representing the guidance of the founders and professors in the search for a better society.
4. Mexico at TEC
After running down from the bleachers, hundreds of students dressed in metallic gray come screaming to the stage and form a giant circle. With the image of the Piedra del Sol projected, students dance with bandanas in the colors of the flag as each state of Mexico is honored.
5. Legacy of values, testimonies from the TEC community.
A moment of speeches of the TEC community and its values, where EXATECs, students and TEC collaborators speak and represent their communities with a special message.
6. The Mexican Borrego
With a 6 meter high borrego, a macro element created for the occasion and TEC’s mascot, the richness and diversity of the Mexican cultures that are part of the TEC community is reviewed with a mosaic of typical costumes, dances and Mexican music.
7. From TEC to the world
In the seventh act, the TEC Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Roberto Hernandez, plays while a world map is projected on stage in which 3 young people travel along routes that link TEC’s international ties as well as the experience of foreign students at TEC.
8. Human networks and human flourishing
In the climactic part of the event, four industrial cranes suspend more than a hundred students, while others form the mosaic in the center of the stage simulating “human nets”.
The performance reflects the importance of collaboration and the formation of human networks for human flourishing.
9. Yo soy TEC! The energetic closing of FESTUM
The show closes with the institution’s anthem and dance – Yo soy TEC!, – where at the end, the students form the giant number 80 to culminate the celebration of TEC’s first 8 decades.
