Dancing Across Borders

Olga NÁjera-RamÍrez is a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Norma E. CantÚ is a professor of English at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Brenda M. Romero is an associate professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

"This stimulating collection expands our understanding of Mexican dance's significance by employing dance as a prism through which to view broader sociocultural issues and meaning. It sets a new standard for anthropological dance studies far beyond its U.S.-Mexico focus."--Daniel Sheehy, author of Mariachi Music in America: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture

• Acknowledgments   xiIntroduction   xiiiOlga Najera-Ramirez, Norma E. Cantu, and Brenda M. RomeroPart I: Contested Identities1. Embodied Recuperations: Performance, Indigeneity, and Danza Azteca   3   Elisa Diana Huerta2. The Zapopan Dancers: Reinventing an Indigenous Line of Descent   19   Renee de la Torre Castellanos3. La Feria de Enero: Rethinking Gender in a Ritual Festival   48   Xochitl C. Chavez4. Dancing to "Whittier Boulevard": Choreographing Social Identity   66   Marie "Keta" Miranda5. Creating Agency and Identity in Danza Azteca   80   Maria Teresa CesenaPart II: Dimensions of Space and Place6. The Semiotics of Land and Place: Matachines Dancing in Laredo, Texas   97   Norma E. Cantu7. Dancing to the Heights: Performing Zapotec Identity, Aesthetics, and Religiosity   116   Adriana Cruz-Manjarrez8. Traditional Dances of the Sierra Norte of Puebla: Identity and Gender Relations   138   Alberto Zarate Rosales9. Por Que Estas Aqui?: Dancing through History, Identity, and the Politics of Place in Butoh Ritual Mexicano   148   Shakina Nayfack10. El Baile de los Elotes:   The Corn Dance   165   Jose Sanchez JimenezPart III: Trajectories of Tradition11. The Matachines Danza as Intercultural Discourse   185   Brenda M. Romero12. The Ballet Folklorico de Mexico and the Construction of the Mexican Nation through Dance   206   Sydney Hutchinson13. Dancing Culture: A Personal Perspective on Folklorico   226   Rudy F. Garcia14. The Mexican Danzon: Restrained Sensuality   237   Susan Cashion15. Gender as a Theme in the Modern Dance Choreography of Barro Rojo   256   Nancy Lee Chalfa RuyterPart IV: Politics of Traditional and Innovation16. Staging Authenticty: Theorizing the Development of Mexican Folklorico Dance   277   Olga Najera-Ramirez17. Dance, Politics, and Cultural Tourism in Oaxaca's Guelgauetza   293   Chris Goerizen18. Bailando para San Lorenzo: Nuevo Mexicano Popular Traditional Musics, Ritual Contexts, and Dancing during Bernalillo Fiesta Time   318   Peter J. Garcia19. Folklorico in the United States: Cultural Preservation and Disillusion   335   Russell Rodriguez20. Zapateado Afro-Chicana Fandango Style: Self-Reflective Moments in Zapateado   359   Martha GonzalezEpilogue   379Selected Bibliography on Folk, Ritual, and Social Dance in Greater Mexico   383Works Cited   403Contributors   431Index   437