Among the dances that are performed in Veracruz are Los Santiagos and Los Payasos, two full of history and a sample of the cultural richness of Veracruz.
Mexico City, September 3 (However).- Veracruz is a place full of tradition, history, culture, delicious flavors and aromas, as well as friendly people who warmly welcome visitors. One of the representative elements of this beautiful place are its dances that are still performed at patron saint events and festivals.
Papantla Flyers
A dance that immediately makes Veracruz appear in our mind is that of the Voladores de Papantla, originally from the Totonaca region of Veracruz, this dance contains a lot of tradition and is very important, so much so that the United Nations Educational Organization, Science and Culture (UNESCO) recognizes the Ritual Dance of the Flyers of Papantla as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since it shows respect for the spiritual world and nature, represents the harmony and balance between them.
The ritual ceremony of the flyers is a dance associated with fertility. Photo: Courtesy
Los Voladores de Papantla is performed with five dancers who climb a mast approximately 18 or 40 meters high, one of the men sits on the mast and plays a drum and a flute, this is done in honor of the sun, the four cardinal points and to the four winds. The rest of the dancers come down from the mast with their feet tied by a rope that unravels as it turns. This is done because it is a way of representing the flight of birds. Each dancer performs 13 turns that when added together give 52, the number of years in a solar cycle.
Dance of the Clowns
According to “The dance music of Los Tocotines, Los Santiagos y de Banda Cruzada, from Xico, Veracruz” by Obeth Colorado Morales, the term “clown” was used to talk about those dancers who had no relation to history that counted the dance, however, with the passage of time, little participation of these characters began to be noticed and a specific dance was created to motivate everyone, mainly young people, to participate and not lose this character.
Most of the dances had a character called a clown or mail who danced separately, until their dance was created. Photo: Facebook Veracruz Tourism
The costume for this dance is a colorful suit, a clown mask and a party hat; the dancers dance to the sound that is being performed, it can be the sound of La Novia or that of La Paseada; each one dances according to the rhythm.
the santiagos
The dance of Los Santiagos is a variant of the dance of Moors against Christians. The page of the Universidad Veracruzana (UV) shares that this dance has as its central theme the attempt by Spain to retake control of Christian spaces invaded by Muslims. In the year 1538, the first representation of Los Santiagos took place, a dance that is performed in various parts of the country with its respective variants.
The costumes of the dancers are made up of light blue poplin and a hat adorned with flowers, the Christians wear half of the brim gathered up, while the Moors wear pants and a white long-sleeved shirt. Regarding the dance that takes place in Xico, Colorado Morales says that the characters of the group of Christians are made up of the Captain, who carries a white flag; Mr. Santiago who carries the horse, a Caidin and Correos, which may be two clowns. The Moors are placed in a row on the right side and are the Captain who carries a red flag, the Sentorio, Pilates, Herod and Caifás. One of the variants in their wardrobe is that they wear a white shirt but with three colored ribbons, red pants with white lace and a red apron, they also integrate the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The Negreada de Bayeta
The inhabitants of Xico gave their name to this dance since they were called “blacks”, Obeth Colorado Morales adds that it began to be practiced approximately in 1875. The group of dancers is made up of men, one plays the role of “La Malinche” pregnant, another plays “King Luango” which is a reference to Hernán Cortés and wears a hat with colored ribbons, another character called “Correo” is the messenger between the king and “La Malinche” and carries a horn with schnapps.
At present, for this dance people wear very colorful clothing and animal-shaped masks and the dancers walk the streets to the rhythm of music that can be a Huasteco son.
