When growing up in Waukegan, Amanda Diaz-Bahena said her mother, Lupita Munoz, wanted her to learn the cultural dances of Mexico. “At first, I was like, Come on Mom, we’re in America. We’re listening to pop and rock and hip hop,” Diaz-Bahena recalled.
Her mother insisted she take time to learn the traditional dances in between hip hop lessons, and she also founded Ballet Folklórico Tayahua, a professional dance troupe and studio in Waukegan.
“I am so grateful my mom instilled in me that you can’t forget where you come from,” said Diaz-Bahena, who serves as the group’s administrator. Ballet Folklórico Tayahua presents A Night in Mexico at 6 p.m. March 11 at the Genesee Theatre. Adults and youngsters will perform various Mexican dances in colorful costumes to live music.
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“Ballet Folklórico Tayahua is the American Dream,” Diaz-Bahena said. “They started practicing in people’s garages and driveways, and now there’s the studio. Our goal is to get kids out off the street and on the dance floor. It was my mother’s dream to open up a school to keep kids busy and out of trouble.”
Diaz-Bahena said the March performance will reveal that Mexico is not one single entity or culture.
“Each of the 32 states in the country is different,” she said. “Each state cooks differently. They make enchiladas differently. They make their tacos differently. You have Afro-Mexicans. You have Mexicans with blond hair and blue eyes. It’s not just one basic culture.” Dances, costumes and musical accompaniments also differ in each state.
“Ballet Folklórico Tayahua dances to keep alive many of the ideas, thoughts and certainly the music and dance of the different cultures of Mexico,” Diaz-Bahena said.
For example, the state of Zacatecas, where her family originates, has a dance in which women wear a full ruffled calico skirt topped with a matching solid color blouse.
“The men wear a pair of cowboy pants, a white shirt covered with a dark jacket,” Diaz-Bahena said. “They tie a bandanna on their heads and a white sash on their waists. All dancing is done by couples and includes a lot of foot stomping.” The concheros dance, which originated in another state in Mexico, dates to the time when the Aztec Empire was invaded by the Spanish.
“The concheros is an important traditional dance and ceremony which has been performed in Mexico since early in the colonial period,” Diaz-Behena said. The conchero dancers keep rhythm by stomping their feet, which are usually heavy with ayoyotes, clusters of copper bells, and with colorful arrays of feathers pointing heavenward,” she said.
“When you see the dancers dressed like Aztecs, they have feathers in their hair. They have sea shells fastened to their shoes and sandals. When they’re dancing, you hear this whoosh,” she said.
The jarabe is considered Mexico’s national dance, which Americans have come to know as the “Mexican Hat Dance.”
“During the dance, the man’s sombrero is placed on the ground, and after lively hopping, sliding and kicking around the sombrero, the woman bends to pick up the hat, at which point the man kicks his leg over her head. Needless to say, timing and careful choreography are important,” Diaz-Bahena said. That’s why training and auditioning are required before a member of the school can join the professional dance group.
“We hope people will come to support a local nonprofit organization,” she said. “It will be a night full of surprises, of dancing, of happiness, of lights, of live music. The audience will definitely get out of their seats to dance that night.”
Ballet Folklórico Tayahua: A Night in Mexico
When: 6 p.m. March 11
Where: Genesee Theatre, 203 N. Genesee St., Waukegan
Tickets: $10-$50 plus fees
Information: 847-263-6300; geneseetheatre.com
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.