At just 13 years of age, last March Esteban followed in his brother’s footsteps and became the second foreigner to win Cuba’s international ballet competition, made up by a panel of 13 judges from different countries.

The youngster’s artistic vein comes from his parents, both of whom were ballet dancers.  Esteban learned the art of dancing from his father, Hector, who has been training him for eight years now, from the moment that this well-known Mexican ballet dancer started dancing.

“Our training sessions were very strict; at times we spend two hours on the same exercise, repeating it again and again”, he asserted.

And it was precisely his father who prepared him for the competition in Cuba.  “I believe he felt very proud to be able to say that he had trained the only two individuals that had won first place in Cuba”, he stated.  “I admire him (his father) above all as a teacher, as the person who taught me everything”.

The Teanager

A day in the life of this ballet dancer is unlike that of any other teenager.  Instead of going to school and worrying about Algebra, Esteban works on his body and on perfecting his moves.
He was granted a scholarship to study at The Rock School for Dance Education, in Philadelphia, which he says was essential in his development as a ballet dancer and artist.

But since it can’t all be just be about dancing, Esteban can’t escape his school work.  He is enrolled in the home schooling program offered by the Mexican Department of Education, and thus studies from his grade-level textbooks and later takes the corresponding exams so as to complete his high school education.
In addition to being Mexico’s Ambassador of the Arts, missing the weather of his home town of Guadalajara and training eight hours a day before competitions, the young ballet dancer also has to sacrifice some things that are typical for teens his age.

“As a dancer you have to refrain from doing many things because you can get injured… if you fall and twist your ankle, you won’t be able to dance for some time and it is very difficult to come back”, he added.

Though his world revolves around ballet, however, Esteban also finds the time to enjoy his pastimes as a teenager.  Basketball and baseball are his favorite sports, tacos his favorite food and as a native from Guadalajara, the Chivas are his favorite soccer team.

Because of his physical appearance, this talented youth is at times mistaken for his brother Isaac, the first Mexican to dance with the American Ballet and who a month ago, at the young age of 17, began to dance as a soloist during the San Francisco Ballet performance season.

And it is precisely Isaac, among the group of persons with whom Esteban has shared the stage, who has most impressed him.  His elder brother’s precise technique “is very hard to achieve and very few people have achieved it”, Esteban stated.

New York

Before taking the stage, Esteban concentrates, prays and fills himself with positive energy.  Unfortunately this does not always spare him from difficulties.  He went through one of these during the first round of the New York International Competition, held last April.

The most important thing about falling is getting up, however, and this young Mexican not only got up but ranked number one among 356 competitors from different countries.

“Wherever I go, people say that they can’t believe that I’m Hispanic.  The truth is that there are not many outstanding Hispanic ballet dancers but I am very proud to be one and to be able to represent my country everywhere I go.”
“Unfortunately there are not many outstanding ballet dancers (in Mexico) because of a very strong taboo against male ballet dancers, and he is misjudged”, says Laura Emilia, the young dancer’s elder sister who accompanies him on all his tours.

“You can’t let their words get to you because, if you do, then they win.  You have to show them once and again that it is not true and that it is possible”, Esteban expounded
“As a Mexican and Hispanic artist, I invite all youths to practice this sport and some art form… it is difficult and requires a lot of discipline but it is very gratifying once you reach your goals.  Remember that where there’s a will, there’s a way”, he advised.

Last June, this young Mexican left his school in Philadelphia and took the summer course of the American Ballet Theater in New York, ranked as one of the best schools worldwide; he is now preparing for a competition in Turkey.
This, however, is but another step.  The teen dreams of winning one of the four most important competitions in the world; representing Mexico as a member of a dance company; and some day being a ballet teacher.

Esteban dances with pride for who he is and for his country.  He dances and will continue to do so because, despite his young age, this Mexican native says that he simply cannot imagine life without ballet.