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Learning the 'cultura' through dance
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Posted by r0rt1z Mon Nov 21, 2005 09:37:11 PST
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0 responses 0 comments One, two.

Seven, eight.

Heel, heel.

Side, side.

Those are the instructions that Mexican folk dance instructor Sylvia Guzman gives to 20-plus children who are learning to move to the beat of a norteño song.

It’s a Monday night, and the children are conducting their weekly folklorico dance rehearsal inside the cafeteria of Juliet Thorner School. The session is organized by the local nonprofit folklorico dance group, Escuelas Unidas.

For 46-year-old Guzman, every practice night links her to her roots and gives young Hispanic children a new understanding of theirs.

As students stomp on the wooden floor, the Escuelas Unidas instructor thinks back to times when she didn’t know about dancing or  her Mexican background.

Other memories overwhelm Guzman as she steps off the wooden floor, pushes the stop button on her boom box, and studies her students as they perfect their moves.

“People would make fun of me when I went to Mexico and called me ‘pocha’ all the time,” said the third-generation Mexican-American.

Guzman would regularly travel to Mexico with her parents to visit her maternal abuelos. But she remembers feeling discriminated against by people who felt she couldn’t speak Spanish or didn’t know anything about her roots.

She made it a goal to prove them wrong.

At a young age, she started learning more about her heritage, and, at 18 years old, she poured her energy into Mexican folk dance.

When she attended Cal State Bakersfield, she joined Los Correcaminos, the campus’ dance group, which was directed by instructor María Guadalupe Castro Páramo.

She danced with Los Correcaminos for 14 years and traveled to different parts of Mexico to participate in seminars, workshops and dance events.

Her experience allowed her to explore Mexico and improve her Spanish.

But it also sparked a new goal in Guzman’s life.

“She always showed a desire to teach others to dance,” Castro Páramo recalled.

Guzman decided it was time to help other Mexican-Americans stay in touch with their roots through dance.

She formed the folklorico dance group, Escuelas Unidas, in 1985, after being encouraged by students and parents at Sierra Junior High School where she had been teaching.

There are no requirements or fees involved with joining the group.

“And you don’t’ have to be Hispanic to dance,” added Guzman, as a group of about a dozen youths and adults warm up on the stage, jumping, walking, skipping and stomping.

Today, the nonprofit has 60 members, from age 4 to 40-something. Children come in from different schools throughout the county to participate in the weekly  sessions.

Escuelas Unidas moved to Thorner School two years ago. Guzman now teaches fifth graders at Thorner.

The group survives on fund-raisers or donations they receive from performing at weddings, quinceañeras, and community events. The group’s biggest annual event is the Festival Juvenil Primaveral, which is held in the spring in Bakersfield.

Escuelas Unidas operates with help from the Bakersfield City School District. The district allows the group to rehearse in the school’s cafeteria.

Money raised helps pay for costumes and a required $1,400  insurance policy needed to use school facilities.

Meanwhile, parents say they are thankful for the group because it has really helped their children keep their cultural identity alive.

“It’s a tradition that I’m going to follow forever,” said parent Leticia Leija.

Generations of Leija’s family have joined Escuelas Unidas, including herself. Although she doesn’t dance anymore, Leija said she still brings her 4-year-old granddaughter, Gabriela Camacho, to rehearsals. Her adult daughter, Melina Leija, also comes to practice and brings her 3-year-old son, Alvaro, along to watch the class. Melina said she hopes he also is motivated to join the group one day.

Melina said the group has taught her details about Mexico that she probably would have never learned at school.

“It’s been awesome because when I was in school, I knew about the Mexican states more than other students,” said Melina, who has been dancing for about 10 years.

Diego Flores, 15, who has been dancing with the group for eight  years, said dancing brings him a sense of pride.

“I just like exposing my culture,” said the third-generation Mexican-American. “(Through) dancing, you can learn about a side of Mexico that you can’t see in a cruise.”

Through the eyes of Guadalajara native and new Escuelas Unidas dance instructional assistant, Alberto Tapia, the dancers are proof that you don’t need to live in Mexico to be Mexican at heart.

“It makes me so proud to see that people here want to learn about Mexican culture,” Tapia said.

Guzman agrees.

A little after the two-hour adult rehearsal began, Guzman took a quick break and opened a white binder with photos showcasing past performances of Escuelas Unidas.

She then went back up to the stage, and her feet began waltzing to the rhythm of the music.

ROSARIO ORTIZ

Más staff

Contact Rosario Ortiz at

rortiz@masbakersfield.com

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