The First Celebrate Urban Birds of Huasteca Potosina Festival!

The first Celebrate Urban Birds of Huasteca Potosina Festival was organized by the Salvando al Loro Huasteco (Saving the Huastecan Parrot) organization, located in the Superior Technological Institute of Tamazunchale (Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Tamazunchale)! The festival began with a short talk about the importance of the birds residing in Huasteca Potosina and why and how bird focused tourism is sustainable. After an interesting discussion the participants used binoculars to observe different birds in the green areas of the institute. All of the participants had a chance to see beautiful birds through the binoculars. They identified the species of bird they observed and entered their data through the Programa de Aves Urbanas (Urban Birds Program).

Next there was an art workshop! Each person drew at least one bird that they observed from their walk outside the Institute. This helped the participants realize the beauty of the birds they observed as well as their importance in the natural environment.

Next there was a presentation by engineer Magda Paulina Luna Valencia. Her talk “The Impact of Waste in the Environment” showed the relationship between the amount of waste and the negative impact on species habitats. The participants left the talk with a goal of reducing the amount of waste they generate.

During the festival there was a demonstration by the “Huastecos de Corazon” (Heart of Huastecos). This folkloric dance group performed their amazing Huapango music and dance “I Conserve the Querreque”. The Huapango is a traditional dance and music style from Huasteca Potosina. It consists of improvised verses accompanied by violin and guitarra huapanguera. The lyrics are usually sung in falsetto and the dance has many difficult moves. In Huasteca Potosina the most famous Huapango is the Querreque, a performance inspired by the Lineated Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus) that makes the sound “Querr Querr Querr” when it picks at wood. The Querreque demonstrated the relationship between cultural conservation and biological conservation.

At the end of the festival everyone came together to eat without plastic plates or utensils as a way of reducing waste and helping the environment. As a result of the festival people became more aware of the importance of bird conservation and environmental conservation in Huasteca Potosina. People also realized that bird tourism might be an economic benefit for their community.

The festival was a success! Everyone who attended the festival left excited about bird conservation and wanted to develop new ways to take care of their natural environment. The Salvando al Loro Huasteco (Saving the Huastecan Parrot) organization gives special thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for supporting their goals of increasing appreciation for birds and the environment in the Huasteca Potosina community.