Baile Folklórico Roots

In 1962 Sra. Amelia Hernandez took First Place in a world folkloric dance competition in Paris, France. This event created a national wave in the organized movement of the “danza folklórica” and thus the folkloric groups and clubs were formed.

The forefathers of folkloric dance emerged during this era. In the state of Jalisco, folklorists such as Dr. Francisco Sanchez Flores (El Caballito, La Culebra, Las Copetonas, El Jarabe largo ranchero), Sra. Palafox and Sra. Ma. Del Refugio Garcia Bram (Miss Cuca) formed the first group of dancers, mostly females and some men who would show up to be close to all the females. This first group of dancers learned the traditional dances. The groups were informal, meeting in school patios or other out of the way areas where they did not disturb others. From these informal groups folklorists like Rafael Zamarripa, Emilio Pulido, the late Angel Hernandez y Hernandez, and others, all with a great deal of creativity began to form the Grupo Folklórico de Artes Plásticos de la Universidad de Guadalajara.

In 1964 INBA (National Institute of Fine Arts) organized the First National Folkloric Dance Competition. Mexico was divided into four regions so that the best of each region would be in the finals to take place in Mexico City.

This competition aroused great interest among the population and groups formed throughout Mexico. INBA’s criteria required each presentation to be an hour long, include the group’s monograph (historical background, regional information, and geography) and its artistic technical information. These requirements were very stringent; most presentations were twenty minutes, few knew their history or had any idea about their repertoire. At this point there was a need to create new dances or sones. But how could these groups say that these dances were traditional if they were in fact created! They solved this dilemma by disguising the true ownership of these “sones” or dances and made up stories of old-timers who had created these dances and had died. Numerous “sones” were created in this manner.

Mexican Folkloric Dance Traditions

There are three major Mexican Folkloric dance traditions:

• Danza
• mestizo
• bailes regionales

Danzas are indigenous dances generally religious/spiritual in nature, and mostly performed in ritual and community settings.

Mestizos are indigenous dances that reflect European influences in steps, theme, instrumentation and costuming, or some combination of these influences. They also are generally religious in nature.

Bailes regionales are the type with which most people are familiar. Most dances presented by ballet folklórico in the United States and Mexico are bailes regionales. The dances, social in origin, are presented in community and theatrical performances. They reflect the rich cultural heritage and unique characteristics of the regions they represent.

From the beginning mariachi was not just music to be played and sang, it was music to be danced. The zapateado, which originated in Spain, is a mariachi favorite. The performers drive the heels of their boots into dance floor, pounding out swift, syncopated rhythms. The force of zapateado can reduce even the most resistant dance floor to splinters!