Concheros
It remained a purely religious ceremony until the mid 20th century when political and social changes in Mexico also gave it cultural significance as a folk dance.
The Otomi, Jonaz, Chichimeca, Caxcan, and other tribes never conquered by the Mexica, are the true roots of the Danza Conchera.
Whereas the Mexi'ca rituals were based on solar concepts and values, the Chichimeca were rooted in selenic and stellar cosmology.
It is based on the old "mitote" dance, but modified to include Catholic symbolism as a means of preserving ancient ritual.
[2] The dance's origin has been ascribed to the Bajío region, Querétaro and even Tlaxcala, all on the outer edges of the former Aztec Empire.
One theory states that it originated as part of a large number of dance innovations, such as re enactments of the Conquest or the battle that subdued the Otomis and Chichimecas near what is now the city of Querétaro .
[1][2] The dance adopted Spanish military terms for its lead dancers such as captain and lieutenant and was originally done by lords and princes who would perform in their finery.
By the 19th century, dancers performed in close collaboration with Catholic confraternities with limited membership often by lineage, which is still the case in many small towns and villages.
The spread led to several major lineages of Concheros dancers, as different migrants at different times would form groups in the capital.
[2] For Mexico City, one of the most important lineages arrived just before the Mexican Revolution, that ascribed to Jesús González originally from San Miguel Allende.
Many of city's oldest dance groups trace their lineage to this man and to the original standard, which now is only a few strips of tattered cloth.
The number of Concheros grew, especially among the working class in certain major Mexican cities, but it also meant that the dance began to change in meaning from a religious rite to a cultural spectacle, included in the repertoire of Mexican folk dance and even featured in a number of films during Mexico's Golden Age of Cinema.
By the 1950s and 1960s, dancers found that they could earn money performing for tourists in places such as Acapulco and Veracruz as well as in government –sponsored folk dance competitions.
[2] The change in focus also became evident in regalia, with some groups starting to discard the tunics with attempts to copy Aztec dress as depicted in the codices.
The goal for these dancers is to get rid of the European aspects of the dance and return to a "purely indigenous" performance.
Two dancers, Andres Segura and Florencio Yescas were instrumental in creating Conchero/Azteca groups from California to Texas among Mexican American communities.
[5] While the dance contains a number of highly visual markers of its pre Hispanic roots, it is not strictly indigenous.
[2][3] The dance, with its variations, is a multilayered phenomenon with both religious, cultural and political meanings, depending on the people involved.
Most in Mexico who participate in dances say that they do it for personal and/or spiritual reasons, and many are those with mundane city jobs during the week looking for something the "transcends" the ordinary.
Each mesa has a group of officers such as a captain, alférez, sergeants and soldiers with a special post held by women called malinche.
Those who do are called “chimaleros.”[5] When performing at a church, the traditional Concheros will acknowledge the patron saints of the site, when walk in two lines towards the outside atrium or square, fronted by the second lieutenant holding the standard.
[4] Before dancing, the Concheros call on deity and their ancestors, perform ritual cleansing with the aim of bringing the past and present together.
Conchero dancers do not touch each other and most movement is restricted to feet and torsos, leaving hands free to play various musical instruments.
[5] Azteca or Mexica dancers perform the same dances, but do not play concha lutes, wear costumes which are more "indigenous" and generally dispense with the religious ceremony, especially the Catholic.
Regalia include various elements such as animal parts, painted scenes related to religion, history, war, hunting and agriculture.
These dancers will also have large quantities of gold and silver colored adornments and headdresses made of dyed ostrich feathers.
But there are many, large and important groups in Querétaro (the birthplace of La Danza Conchera/Chichimeca/Azteca), Guanajuato, Jalisco (especially near Zapopan), Hidalgo, Morelos, Michoacán, Zacatecas, and as far north as Chihuahua.
Sacred sites like "La Peña de Bernal, Tequizquiapan, and others, marked out the eight ritual directions of ancestor worship and annual cleansing.
Today, because many "Azteca" dancers do not know the deep historical roots of La Danza Conchera in Querétaro and Guanajuato, the four cardinal markers of Conchero time and space are seen from the lens of the dwellers of Mexico City.
[1] The other most important sites for Conchero dance form a rough cross extending out from the historic center of Mexico City, and include the Villa de Guadalupe in the north (which is Tonantzin), Amecameca in the east, (which is either Tlaloc or Tepeyollotl), Chalma in the south (which is either Tlaoc or Tezcatlihpoca) and Los Remedios in the west (which is Mayahuel).
