Contrary to stereotypes that depict Mexicans as passive, our ancestors were anything but. When faced with political, religious, and cultural conquest, they fought back.  Hidden within the dance-dramas of Mexico such as: Los Moros y Cristianos, Los Santiagos, La Danza de la Pluma, La Conquista and Los Matachines (as pictured above) our dancing continues to preserve the ancient traditions of our ancestors including their opposition to Christianity and conquest.  Outwardly, these dances seem to promote the Christian themes encouraged by the Spanish conquerors, yet to those “in the know” these dance-dramas had a deeper meaning. The following is an excerpt from the book Dancing Throughout Mexican History (1325-1910) written by Sanjuanita Martínez-Hunter and edited by myself.

There we stood by the stage outside the St. Augustine Cathedral in Laredo, Texas, dressed in full costume. All my dancers and I were waiting our turn to perform at their Jamaica. Suddenly the bells rang indicating that mass had ended. As the churchgoers exited the building they walked right next to us as we stood by the stage. The priest came out of the church and walked all around us blessing us with holy water. Sprinkles of water touched my arms, dress, and head. Then, the priest got up on stage and welcomed everyone with a prayer. As we bowed our heads, I spoke silently to God thanking him with all my heart. Then, I prayed to God dedicating these dances to Him.  Just then, the organizer gave us the cue to begin. I took the stage performing the dances of Costa Chica, Guerrero with my dance group. We danced in front of the cathedral, before parishioners, family, friends and God.

Many times we believe that the Mexican folklorico dances that we perform have a long, long history.  In reality, many times the costumes, music, and dance steps are recent creations but are thought of as ancient. Eric Hobsbawn in his classic text “Inventing Traditions” (1983) coins this term to refer to “traditions actually invented, constructed and formally instituted and those emerging in a less easily traceable manner within a brief and date-able period-a matter of a few years perhaps- and establishing themselves with great rapidity (1).”  He notes that these invented traditions are practices with a given set of rules, rituals, that are repeated and that are thought to have a long history but in actuality are very recent (1).  Many of our Mexican Folklorico costumes, music, and dances fall under this definition of invented traditions.  I argue that many folklorico dances are thought to be old traditions but are were invented in the 20th century for performances. Let use a few examples of Mexican Folklorico costumes, music, and dances so we can think about this a bit further.