OLLU
DANZA AZTECA
We Can’t Dance
Without Your
Assistance
Ministry
and the
Interested in
Helping?
We need help to raise money for our
DANZA AZTECA uniforms at OLLU.
Arts
The uniforms typically consist of a
brilliantly colored split skirt adorned with
Christian images, bells and noise-making
beads worn over white clothing,
sometimes with the image of the Virgin;
and a resplendent feathered headdress.
Dancers carry gourd rattles while dancing
to traditional tunes played on a drum, which
combines with the rattles to beat a hypnotic
rhythm accompanying the dance.
Please make your check payable to:
To See Us
Dance
Is to Hear
Our Hearts
Speak!
OLLU Campus Ministry
Walter Center #203
411 S.W. 24th Street
San Antonio, TX 78207
— Indian Proverb
Danza Azteca
Our Lady
of
Guadalupe
DANZA AZTECA, also known as “matachines,”
dance in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe,
the patroness of Mexico beginning December
1—12 and later in December as a part of
Christmas celebrations. They perform at
churches, outdoor festivals, and at shrines to
the Virgin often found in Mexican-American
neighborhoods. The Virgin, also known as
Our Lady of Guadalupe, is reputed to have
appeared to an Aztec peasant, Juan Diego, in
1531 near Mexico City during those dates.
She sent him to the local Catholic bishop and
asked that a church be built for her in the
valley near her apparition. When the bishop
asked for proof, the virgin had Juan Diego
gather roses from the frost-covered hill.
When he opened his cloak to give the bishop
this proof, the roses spilled out revealing an
image of the Virgin was visible on the inside
of his cloak. This cloak is
kept at the Basilica church
honoring the Virgin north
of Mexico City, and copies
of the image are everpresent in Mexican and
Mexican-American homes
and communities. In 1945,
Pope Pius XII proclaimed
Mary, Virgin of Guadalupe,
Empress of all the Americas.
What is Danza Azteca?
Everything in the universe has rhythm.
Everything dances. -- Maya Angelou
La Danza Azteca or The Aztec Dance are names
that have been used throughout the past four
hundred and eighty years to describe a complex
and ancient form of communication among the
Native American nations of central Mexico.
Simply put, DANZA AZTECA, is a modern mystic
folk dance tradition of Central Mexico based on
the cultural legacy of the Aztecs.
DANZA AZTECA is a living, evolving, cultural
tradition filled with the artistic, spiritual, and
military traditions of the Pre-Colombian Aztecs.
It is a form of prayer, individual, and yet
communal. It is NOT just a modern folk dance
tradition. In reality DANZA AZTECA is closer to a
church service, than to a ballet performance.
DANZA AZTECA is a form of communication. It is a
rich blend of prayer, music, choreography,
poetry, theater, and most importantly of all, of
deeply held spiritual faith.
Using brilliant colors in their uniforms, headdresses, and musical instruments, the Azteca
dancers communicate across generations,
sacrificing their bodies, their economic
abilities, and even their limited socio-political
power, to carry on a tradition with which they
have been entrusted.
Mixing pre-Columbian spirituality with folk
Spanish Catholicism, and to a lesser extent,
African influences, the danzantes of the Azteca
tradition redefine modern Native American
tradition. Using intricate dance steps, turns
and jumps, the dancers evoke a kinetic prayer.
Maracas, seed pod shells, and drums unite to
create a mind expanding experience that
reflects the cultural heritage of Modern Mexico
and Aztlan.
The rich Catholic liturgical Celebrations at
Our Lady of the Lake continue to be enhanced
through Sacred Movement and Liturgical Dance.
Today, DANZA AZTECA speaks to the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of our University.
Its emerging mission is to invoke and express
the vision of hope in a community of believers
steeped in spirituality.