El saber valorar nuestra cultura, a traves del folklore danzistico, es una labor que, ademas de intensamente dura, es de caracter emocional tanto o más que intelectual y fisico. Pocas cosas en este mundo motivan tanto al Mexicano como escuchar su musica y ver desplazandose una danza, son o jarabe, muestra de nuestra nación, y, muy en lo especial, es el sentimiento que nos provoca este hecho, especialmente estando lejos de nuestra querida tierra natal.

Escuchar el Son de La Negra, tocada por nuestros incomparables mariachis, como solo ellos pueden, es poner en alto no solo la imagen de nuestra patria adorada, sino la misma "Alma" de nuestro pueblo Mexicano. Asi mismo, al ver interpretar un Jarabe Tapatio a una pareja luciendo el tan representativo traje de charro, el hombre y la bellisima China Poblana, la dama, nos llena de orgullo de ser "Mexicano".

El "conocimiento" de nuestras culturas, y en este caso, por medio de la practica de la danza folklórica Mexicana, es escencial para poder comprender, fomentar y rescatar lo que tenemos sin desvirtuar la escencia y la tradición de lo representativo de cada una de las regiones que comprende nuestra Republica Mexicana. Y digo culturas en lo plural, pues México, posiblemente siendo el ejemplo mas clasico, esta representado no por muchas etnias diferentes, sino por lo que se considera muchas naciones dentro de el mismo país.

El saber moverse, con un alto grado de abilidad, al compas de una musica, no refleja en su totalidad, entendimiento u apreciación de esta arte. La practica tiene que ser templada con el respeto a la originalidad del rescate hecho por los investigadores capacitados para ello. No es bastante visualizar en un foro una obra o muestra artistica representando el baile folkórico de alguna región para conocerle a fondo, sino que tenemos la nececidad y la obligación de estudiar y comprender quienes son los que ejecutan estos bailes y el porque y cuando se acostumbran en su estado nativo.

El conseguir estos ultimos objetivos viene siendo la parte mas importante para el que practica la "Danza Folklórica", pues solo haci se le puede llegar a valorizar y entender por completo, pues siendo el espectaculo una parte importante, el reflejo de los bailes no los da el espectaculo, sino el sentimiento de las personas que lo practican, y el sentimiento que motivan a aquellos que tienen la fortuna de participar como espectadores, y digo participar pues el espectador siempre a sido una parte íntegra de el exito de la presentación, sea en los pueblos o en el teatro.

Asi que vamos a tomar una expedición al mundo de la "Danza Folklórica", siendo mi unico objetivo, el de larles un poco ese sentimiento, esa alma, ese ser que solo lo conoce por completo el que ha vivido en México nuestras costumbres.

A continuación, "El Mitote", que siendo un poco de mi propia vida, se hace de enorme valor para aquellos que practican la "Danza Folklórica" por la aportación que representan tantos amigos y conocidos investigadores ademas de practicantes del folklore Mexicano, sin los cuales esta revista no fuese posible.

Con todo respeto presento "El Mitote", revista semanal, mensual o bimestral, (todavia no se sabe) dedicada en su totalidad a incrementar el conocimiento y sentimiento de nuestras costumbres culturales. Que disfruten y que fomenten la comprención de nuestros queridos paisanos, pues cada semillita que plantamos engrandece a cada uno de nosotros que se siente ..."MEXICANO".

S. David Rojas Briviesca
Director
Instituto Cultural "Raices Mexicanas"

Flor de Piña is a dance from the state of Oaxaca, and recently, I viewed a paper on it and it was called a ceremony, which sounded curious to me. After checking all my sources of dance teachers and questioning them about the value of this version of research, they all said that they had never heard of it being discrived in this fashion. I checked and the person that did this research is NOT a dancer, so he saw beyond the dance portion of it and saw the significance of not only the dance steps but, of the movements. Here is a version of the dance that we should all know of...and be greatfull someone told us about it.

La Costa de Oaxaca is a region known by most of us, for there was an ANGF conference there back a few years and we all learned dances from there, but, did you know the significance of "El Toro de Petate" dance? If not, you will be pleasantly surprised that the oringins of many of the dances of México actually have very HUMBLE beginings, and are then held on as traditional folk dances becoming part of the culture of that town...yes I mean that town for many of the very famous dances "La Negra", El Jarabe Tapatio", "Las Alazanas" and many more were nothing more than someone dancing as they wanted to (and could) to the music with no particular pattern, then the ones form the big towns came and choreographed and artistized them (some say distorded) and called them done...you must be the judge of this.

Macho Macho Man finally someone that agrees with me. This has been a real sore spot for me for the meaning of the word macho has always been dear to my heart, and when I left the Santa Barbara (where it is very laid back and you can say what you want without being threatened to be...well you know) to go to San Francisco, I started to argue with everyone about the meaning of the word "macho". This lady, from San Francisco of all places, puts into words EXACTLY what I understand it to be...and she puts it in such a way and with such tact that the next time someone starts to arque with me, to avoid an arguement (and to avoid being beaten up) I will just smile as I hand her (yes it is usually a women) a copy of this paper (from now on I will always carry copies with me) and in the most courteous manner I will ask her to read and then talk to me...and then run as usual.

Feria Mexicana was last month in San José, California. It was very nice, at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds and it was held to showcase Folklórico dancing and competition. About 15 groups from all over California showed up for the 3 day event and the competition was fierce. Everyone I spoke to was expecting a perticular group to win (even the dancers themselves) the competition, but, the Grupo Folklórico Mexcaltitan from the Los angeles Area (the group where I used to dance, may I mention) won first place. It was dificult form me to watch them dance those great huapangos from San Luis Potosí and not be on stage, and after the show I was very proud of them, for they did deserve first place. Under the rules set forth by the organizers, the performance was only worth 20% of the total points, costuming 20%, knowledge of the material 20%, quality of the music 20% (that was MY music they were using by the way), and something else I forget. No one complained and all had a great time and congratulated the winners. I really wish there were more events like this to bring us toghether more often. By the way, the folklórico part of the event was run by el Sr. Carlos Moreno, and may I say, he did a GREAT job toghether with is son Carlitos Jr. Being the first of these types of events it was very credible, for the judges were, Maestro Hector Arturo Henández from Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, Maestro Humberto Novel from Mérida, Yucatan, Profesor Armando Correa from Aguacalientes and Jeréz, Zacatecas, and a real surprise was "El Cuni" from Guadalajara, Jalisco (a REAL big surprise for the last time I saw him was in 1969 as he went to get more drinks in carnaval in Mazatlán and never came back) and most of all, Miguel Velez Arceo, for I think we all agree that he is the most respected maestro of folklórico by those of us who dance. This list of maestros gave the competition a seal of approval and no one dared to say anything, for it was them who awarded the prizes. By the way second place was won by Grupo Folklórico Teocalli from Fresno and directed By Julio Bustos. Third place was won by Grupo Folklórico Alika del Nayar from San José and directed by Cipriano Galindo. Fourth place was won by GrupoFolklórico México-Tenochtitlan from San José and directed by Hector Plascencia.

Now for the bad new, even though most of the event went well some (most) of the people were complaining (including me) that the entrance fee was too high (I agree), it was 17.00 dollars for adults, and when you are a couple that gets expensive. I talked to some of the people who were selling food or goods and they all said they were promised that alot more people were going to show up and they (according to them) made the promoters lower the tickets to 10.00 dollars, still high but better, but not good enough to save this event for I believe the promoter was counting on many more people showing up and making more money...for here is the catch, up to his point no one has been paid their prize money...no one, and probably worse than that, even the checks paid to the judges...bounced. This in unforgibable and should not be allowed to happen, even before the event, I was calling my friends to see if they were going to go, they said they did not really trust the promoter to actually put on this event, for last year, he was going to and did not and that was a big letdown for many people. I don't know what my feelings are on this, but, like one of the directors of a group that participated said "let this be a lesson to us all"...I specially hope it's a lesson to the promoters.

Many years ago, at the turn of the century, a group of Russians known as "Molokans", for their religious beliefs, left they homeland to travel to the Americas in search of a place to settle down and practice their religion in freedom, These people ended up mostly in the Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California, Norte, in México, about 20 miles northeast of Ensenada. Recently, when I started my web service I decided to tell people about some of the different people who comprise most of mexico, and having recently read a book that told about the Molokans I decided to put it on the net and see what happened. Well just recently I recieved an e-mail from someone in russia who was asking for help in searching for his lost family no one had seen since 1920. Aparently some family members had left Russia to follow those that had left 20 years before and were never heard from again, and then he writes to me asking for help. Well, being the nosy person that I am ( and plenty of people can atest to that) I began making plans to look for these so called Russians and soon departed from the good ol USA to the Valle de Guadalupe in search of relatives. It did not take long, once in Guadalupe I found the Museo Comunitario de El Valle De Guadalupe and asked the proprietor if she could open the museum to look for any names of people that may be relatives of Vitaly (my friend from Russia).

I told her that if she openned it I would buy a book I knew she sold there and some wine, after I bought the book and got tipsey on the wine (VERY strong) I asked her if there was any Molokans left and if she knew any, She said no, and that I should leave now for I was scarring away her customers (was I not one too). Well I would have none of this, and suggested that she would be very kind if she told me where I may ask for help, she then decided to help me in fear that I might go wondering the town looking for Molokans. She told us to drive back on the paved road and that after the house with graffity on it (a political Ad I found out) their lived a mad named andrés Samudoroff, which was close enough to Samudorov to me, I stoped and got out of the car and went a calling. First off, I was met by a young woman called Sonya Samudoroff and I explained to her what I wanted and she said I should speak to her father. He came from around the front of the house and we started speaking, I started asking questions. At this point, when I asked him for information to send back to his family, he started getting mad and tears came running down his eyes, he said no more information. I asked him if he would at least take the letter his family had writen to him and at least read it. He said NO, no more information...not even for his family. Well I was devastated, and left as courtiously as I could... and had this very big knott in my stomach.

I really am glad you have read up to here, and if you are wondering what the heck this story has to do with folklórico dancing, well it does. Most of us who like to travel into México and search for costumes, hats, music or other things that we can only get down there, often are witnesses to people who dance in the street, often for money, but, also for religious reasons and are at awe for what we are seeing. Sometimes we go up to them not knowing what conditions or circumstances have brought them to this place and most often then not, we do get in their way. We must, as researchers (for this is what we become) learn to observe from a distance and come first as friends, and not as someone who just wants to get something out of them (even taking a picture in intrusive). They have been treated as oddities most of their lives, even by there own people, and now they deserve our respect...for they are our national treasure...they are the reason why we dance. Just like Andrés Samudoroff, even the most humble person in México has a lesson to teach us...let us learn that the first lesson is to respect peoples privacy...and not to change their dances...and that culture really start with good manners.

Well, this is all for now. I am happy you have indulged me and listened to me and my friends...and hope you visit the next issue due out soon. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to e-mail me and I will respond, and, if you have something to say, write it down and send it in for consideration. By the way, many people have made comments on my choice for the name of this magazine "El Mitote". I feel real confortable with it because I do know the real meanning of it, Like the word macho, it has changed from the original (or older) meaning. If anyone knows the meaning... better even, why don't we make a constest. Send in your discription of the word mitote by e-mail or regular carrier and I will publish the results in the next issue, remember to do your research first...and I will make the prize twice what the Feria Mexicana Paid...pun intended.