Baile Folklorico

A woman dancing folklórico in the traditional dress of Jalisco

The state of Jalisco, for example is especially known for its jarabe Tapatio, son and el baile de los sonajeros which accompany its famous mariachi. One of the most popular songs is "La Negra". The state of Guerrero is known for its sintesis and tixtla. Michoacán is known for its huetamo and “Historia del Traje de la Mujer Michoacana,” a dance which depicts a local folktale Alegria, 1995.[1] Though the dances differ from region to region, the basic steps and style of dance are similar. Traditional bailes in Veracruz are characterized by a basic set of steps called zapateados which involve percussive heel-stomping.

Costumes in the southwest United States are characterized by denim and western shirts while costumes of the Federal District of Mexico reflect a stronger traditional Spanish influence and those of the Yucatán reflect indigenous traditions.[1] In the folk dances of Northern Mexico, men generally wear black pants with galas on each side of the leg, accented with a red tie and belt and a black wide-brimmed hat. The woman wear tighter fitting and shorter skirts and either white or black boots. The costumes from Jalisco entails the women to wear brightly colored ruffled skirts trimmed with ribbons whose colors are local signifiers, shoes with heavy clog-like heels and ornate hair pieces. Shoes vary in color but usually they are either black, white, or red, depending on the song and region. For the region of Veracruz, the women wear beautiful white dresses that are full of lace. They use white shoes, and a small apron with a bandana that hangs off the side of the dress. Whether the woman is married or not determines what side the bandana will hang and which side the floral head piece will lie. Married means that it would be on the left side and single would hang on the right. Sinaloa, from the coastal region, wear lighter and more colorful dresses. The people of the Americas typically wear darker colors as a show of mourning for the dead. When dancing ballet folklorico there is a different outfit that goes with each different state of Mexico. Some dancing include dancing with partners will others require using a bandana or fan. [2]

Exhibition of Colombian baile folklorico at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City

Amalia Hernandez pioneered baile folklorico in the 1950s with her establishment and leadership of the Ballet Folklorico Mexico. Additionally, she founded a school in Mexico City for the study and practice of classical and folkloric dance techniques.[3]

Prior to its rise in popularity among student and community groups, bailes folklóricos were (and currently are) performed as a part of large parties or community events. The mariachi musicians generally stand in a line at the back of the performance space and perform without written musical notation, while the dancers perform in couples in front of the mariachis. Nowadays there are both private and public Folklorico groups that get together and compete, for example the USA Ballet Folklorico Nationals.

Mestizaje refers to the whitening of Indigenous people during the colonisation of the Americas specifically by Spanish and Portuguese colonisers.[4] In Mexico, there have been attempts at using Mestizaje to create a national identity through art, music, and dance. Ballet Folklorico has also become a symbol of Mestizaje and the mixing of Spanish and Indigenous Mexican music and dance forms. This can be seen in its history and its formal elements such body movements, gestures, and dress.

One example of this is in Ballet Folklorico of Mexico (founded by Amalia Hernandez, a self-identified Mestiza[5]). In one program, they noted: “It is in the mestizaje of the indigenous and the Spanish where one will find one of the essential traits of the mexican people: A whole series of expressions are colored by their own vigorous style.”[6] The company, like many other folkloric Mexican dance companies draw on indigenous dances and “remodel”[7] them with their own style and for stage performance. In the case of Ballet Folklorico, that involves western techniques brought in through Amalia Hernandez, whose own upbringing and dance education was multicultural and international. She learned ballet from Russian and French teachers and “studied indigenous and regional Mexican dance, tap, modern” and other dance forms.[8] She was sent to the United States to learn English, and finished her formal dance education at Mexico’s National School of Dance. She created Ballet Folklorico of Mexico in an attempt to create “her own concept of nationalist dance.” [9] Hernandez’s personal history cannot be disregarded in the consideration of Ballet Folklorico because she was such an influential figure in its history.

Some of the formal elements of Ballet Folklorico are derived from both Indigenous and colonial dance forms. For example, the charro suit and the zapateo, or foot stomping, both are influenced by Spanish dress and flamenco dance and are symbols of mestizaje. Some of the women’s costumes utilize the high neck, also a symbol of colonial dress.[10] The colors of the costumes and many of the dances’ subjects are symbols of Indigenous communities and culture. Traditional Indigenous dance would not have been performed on the proscenium stage, therefore, Ballet Folklorico uses European theatrical conventions to modify Indigenous-based movement to function in a new cultural medium. Ballet Folklorico is a living history of colonisation and cross cultural art.