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date: 18 February 2025

The Concheros Dance in Mexico Citylocked

The Concheros Dance in Mexico Citylocked

  • Susanna RostasSusanna RostasDepartment of Social Anthropology, Cambridge University

Summary

In the middle decades of the 20th century, groups of Concheros dancing in public places began to attract academic attention. However, a much wider interest in their activities developed in the run-up to the celebrations for the so-called “discovery” of the Americas in 1992, when they were invited to participate in some of the commemorative events. Their dance tradition, one among many in Mexico, is often assumed to have been created either in the 1820s after Mexico gained its independence from Spain or more recently after the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Both were periods when central Mexico became more aware of the Aztec past and interested in reviving aspects of it, and the Concheros’ circle dances were thought to have been part of that revindication—an invented tradition. However, their history has more complex roots than this. The predominant myth claims that the dance began in the Bajio region in the 16th century, an area that had not been dominated by the Aztecs. Counter to that, however, are the beliefs that many began to advocate as the movement of Mexicanidad (or Mexicayotl) flourished during the late 20th century, which has led to the eponymous Mexica challenging many of the Concheros’ beliefs and practices.

Subjects

  • History of Mexico

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