Our Stories
Preserving Our Culture Mario E. Aguilar, Ph.D. Co-Founder, Danza Mexi’cayotl Indio Cultural Center
In every dance we turn to the left, then we turn to the right. That motion symbolizes the blessed duality of life as in left/right, male/female, top/bottom, and life/death. I cofounded Danza Mexi’cayotl Indio Cultural Center with my wife Beatrice Zamora Aguilar. We tell students they are a link in a chain that extends thousands of years into the past and hopefully thousands of years into the future. We try to teach our students to respect their elders, respect the spirituality of life, and to respect themselves.
Our Azteca dances, unlike folkloric, aerobic or Zumba, are actually prayers. When we move our hands up toward the sky with every step we take, we’re offering our prayers.
In 1974, I was 19 and part of a Chicano music group, Los Servidores del Arbol de la Vida. We traveled to Mexico City to perform with other groups. The opening ceremonies began with an Azteca dance group. It inspired me to learn more about this Indigenous cultural tradition that originated in central Mexico before the Spanish invasion in the 1500s. As soon as I returned to San Diego, I began to learn about the Azteca Danza at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park from Maestro General Florencio Yescas.
Left to right: Danza Mexi’cayotl members, Andres Ehecatl Aguilar, Ray Berdugo, Amelia Rodriguez, Augustine Rodriguez, and Sofia Metztli Aguilar (Photos courtesy Mario E. Aguilar and Beatrice Zamora Aguilar)
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