Project Overview
I am a first-generation Nicaraguan-American, a Latina. My heritage has always been a major part of my identity growing up. However, I often found myself struggling with connecting with my roots—I struggled speaking Spanish at home and maintaining a balanced bi-cultural identity. However as I got older, I began to embrace my culture and was eager to learn more about it. I particularly had an interest in learning more about its dances and folklore. Since I have a background in dancing in traditional Mexican folklore, I wanted to learn more of our own dances since it not that well known. Therefore I created this promotional video as a creative to educate those who are unfamiliar with Nicaraguan culture and view clips and illustrations of each dance.
Software: Adobe After Effects, Procreate, YouTube
Skills: Print Design, Digital Marketing, Brand Strategy
Skills: Print Design, Digital Marketing, Brand Strategy
Research & Production
Nicaragua is Central America's largest country filled with rich culture. It is known for its famous volcanoes, beautiful and tropical landscapes, and of course its unique dances. I naturally began my research by asking my family. Through their fascinating stories and knowledge they helped me get started and I then conducted my own research. It's important to note that Nicaragua had been under colonial rule and was a settlement for many African slaves that were brought in during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, therefore resulting in its various themes in their dances, showcasing a diverse culture. I decided to focus on these six dances:
1. El Baile de Solar de Monimbó - a dance honoring Nicaragua's national instrument (the marimba)
2. Danza de Mestizaje - a colonial dance about mestizos (individuals who are European and Indigenous descent)
3. El Güegüense - a satirical pre-Columbian drama about a clever merchant outsmarting Spanish authorities
4. La Gigantona - a giant 9-foot doll that is paraded around festivals
5. Managua - an ode to the country's national beauty (specifically it's capital, Managua)
6. El Palo de Mayo - an Afro/Caribbean-influenced dance worshiping a Maypole and honoring nature's gifts
Mood Board
Note: These photos are courtesy of Google Images and were just used for inspiration and reference. No personal, family photos were included for sense of privacy although those were really helpful during the research process.
Initial Sketches
I studied each individual dance and observed their mannerisms, traditional dress attire, and thematic elements. The following illustrations shown below were done on the iPad app, Procreate. In its early stages, I studied a lot of reference material and combined certain elements together and created a rough outline. I then went over the initial sketch in another layer by making refinements where I secured all the details. Finally once I was satisfied with the design, I outlined my illustration in a thick, continuous stroke and added color and shading to bring it to life. Below shows an example.
Rough Sketch
Refinements
Inking and Color
Character Design
Baile del Solar de Monimbó
Danza de Mestizaje
El Güegüense
La Gigantona
Managua
El Palo de Mayo
Final Product
The following presentation is a roughly 10-min explainer video that covers all the dances I researched on. It begins by showing a little bit of background of the country and then continues to explain each dance as a two-part series: 1. the analysis of the dress attire which shows my illustrations and 2. edited video footage demonstrating the dances (which are pulled from outside sources). I created this video using Adobe After Effects using licensed plug-ins. The video is available on Youtube.
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the music or videos used in this project. This is just for personal, educational use.