The Southwestern College community came together on the night of Nov.30 to celebrate the 52 years Mayan Hall served with tearful comments from retired theatre professor William Virchis and personal accounts of faculty and former students.
Hundreds of students performed on the stage of Mayan Hall with dance, music and theatre productions. Mayan Hall saw the first theatre production in 1969 and the last in a dress rehearsal for Romeo and Juliet last year, days before the COVID-19 pandemic induced global shutdowns .
“There is quite a remarkable history,” Dean of Communications and Social sciences, Cynthia McGregor said.
Southwestern College is the winner of 7 American CollegeTheatre Festivals. According to Southwestern College Superintendent/President Dr. Mark Sanchez, preforming arts faculty produced 17 college world premiere plays and housed the first Mariachi Musical.
“Our students hone their talents in this theatre. Our choir and mariachi have performed around the world. Our theatre students remained regional finalists in the college theatre festival a second time. It’s nostalgic, because I walked into this building for the first time to get extra credit as a college student,” Sanchez said.
Productions of Luis Alfaro, Micheal Frayn, George Kaufman, William Shakspeare and even Green Day’s “American Idiot'' have graced the Mayan Hall stage according to Professor of Theater Arts Ruff Yeager. Professional actors have worked along with theatre students in their first ever collaboration of “Zoot Suit”.
“This stage has hosted what is probably the most constantly diverse stage of actors seen on any stage in San Diego County. This theatre was the head of the class when it came to equity, diversity and inclusion. Talented student actors brought a multiplicity of genders, orientations, ethnicities and languages into this space,” Yager said.
According to Southwestern College Governing Board Vice President Roberto Alcantar, Mayan Hall was even featured as the backdrop of the 1976 horror movie, Dogs.
“It was verys sad to see this place go but we are really excited about what the future holds for our college,” Alcantar said. “This is an emotional day for many of us yet we can honor tradition and our memories because Mayan hall will live in the archives in our history”
Mayan Hall cultivated many friendships and connections over the years. Many even found love, including Virchis who met his second wife at Mayan hall. Over 10 couples got married at Mayan Hall according to Virchis.
Performing arts students and the community were introduced to a multiplicity of worlds through the arts. According to Mary Jo Horvath, a veteran dance professor who has taught at Southwestern College for 31 years, Mayan hall has showcased Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Hip-hop, musical theatre, Baile Folklorico, Salsa, Swing, Ballroom, Dance, Break Dance, Belly Dancing, Bollywood, flag dances and Capoeira.
“Just like the floor that keeps rising from the water underneath the foundation, Mayan Hall gives us the space to lift our spirits and our audience with the art of dance,” Horvath said.
According to McGregor, Mayan Hall is no longer compliant to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The building's floors are rising due to flooding. Mayan hall will be torn down and flattened, but there are no definite plans on what the future has for the space.
“There is talk about some classroom space for the music area. I would love for it to be a museum area. I think it would be perfect as a gathering place. It’s the nucleus of the camps,” McGregor said.
The college opened it’s Fall 2021 semester with a $66 million Proposition R and Proposition Z funded Performing Arts and Cultural Center (PACC) spanning 48,000-square feet. The newly erected Performance Arts Center houses 51 performing arts courses, 70 percent of which are taught in person.
Voters passed Prop. R in 2008, with $389 million in general obligation bonds aimed to construct or rehabilitate SWC facilities. In November 2016, South Bay voters approved the $400 million general obligation bond Prop. Z for the college to make infrastructure renovations.
“It’s so beautiful and it's such a big place. There's so much that can go on in that building. When I talk to students, they are just so overwhelmed with emotions that they'll be able to use that space for their own purposes,” McGregor said.
According to Sanchez, the San Diego Symphony is in partnership with Southwestern College in leasing the new performing arts center. “Soon, Chula Vista will see world renowned musicians. Our community deserves the best,” He said.
“There are no adequate words to express the gratitude we have over the opportunities this stage provided to our students. Though,this grand dame may have recently been out-staged by a new diva, the Performing Arts Center, I have no doubt that Mayan Hall will have the last word. That word is not goodbye, but places! Which has been called here thousands of times by thousands of stage men over the years,” Yager said.
