La Danza de la Santa Cruz

"The Dance of the Sacred Cross"

During the time that most are celebrating 5 de Mayo, in a small ranchito in Zacatecas, the locals are dancing La Danza de la Santa Cruz. 

In El Aguacate de Abajo, they don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo, rather they celebrate the cross.  I have only been back to the ranch once during these festivities because my family always went during December.  It has been quite a while since I have set foot in those parts so I will try and recollect what I can.

Before I start, I must say that Mexican Catholicism is unique.  It is unique because when the Spanish conquered Mexico and forced upon the natives Roman Catholicism, the natives incorporated the religion with their own gods and rituals.

Of late, I have come to learn courtesy of a NOVA broadcast (I love PBS) that this also happened in Peru, another country conquered by the Spanish.  The broadcast I watched was called Ghosts of Machu Picchu and in watching it, I gained a better understanding of the Danza practiced in my own ranchito.

In Cusco, the ancient capital of Peru, each year in the Roman Catholic Festival of Corpus Christi statues of the Virgin Mary along with 15 other saints are removed from the Cathedral and brought to the square.  Performers pay homage to Christian saints by playing music and dancing.  However, both the musical instruments used and the steps they dance are Inca in origin.  That is because the procession is actually a Christian revision of an Inca ritual.  500 years prior, the Inca also processed through Cusco, but instead of carrying the Virgin and Chrisitan saints, they carried the mummies of their dead Inca Kings who they revered as Gods.

View from the Mesita

In the area where El Aguacate de Abajo is located,  most everytime you come to a ranchito, you will see a mesita (high flat point on a hill/mountain) where a cross will be perched.  The cross serves as a reminder to the people that God is watching over you.  In the structure that is holding the cross there will be a place for a candle, which is continually lit by various people.

Each year the dance of the cross is performed. The dancers wear carrizeras, knickers, guaraches de hule, and headpieces.  The Carrizeras are specially made skirts that have oblong wooden beads sewn into a piece of fabric which make a clinking sound when ever the dancers moves. White knickers are worn over stockings which help to support the dancers legs after grueling hours of dancing.  The guaraches or sandals have a very thick sole and when pounded on the ground in synchronization with 15-20 other dancers produce a vibrant sound. These guaraches are easily found in Zacatecas which is well known for their well made exotic boots and guaraches de hule.  Needless to say either will last you a very long time.  A plumero (feather plume) is worn on the head decorated with carrizeras and ribbons along the back. As you can imagine the skirts as well as the head pieces become quite heavy after many hours of dancing.

Los Bailadores - The Dancers

Members of the Danza will make their way up to the mesita dancing all the way accompanied by the entire ranch, a fiddler and a guitarist.  The music is learned only by those who already know the various beats, if not passed down in life the music is lost within that community.  The music played by the musicos is accompanied with the maracas held by each of the dancers.  It is the shakes of the maracas that tell which tune is next, which in turn demands different steps. 

The Fiddler and the Guitarist

At the top of the mesita, the dancers dance in front of the cross before removing it.  Once the cross is removed it is slowly taken back down to a ramada made by the community from trees in the arroyo (stream).  The ramada provides shade for the dancers during the hot hours of the day.

Branches from trees in the stream for the ramada

Also in preparation of the events, the women clean the streets by sweeping the rocks.  Ha Ha yes I said rocks...even in the most rural of areas communities clean the streets that are in front of their houses.  In El Aguacate their are specific days in which "te toca" or "it's your turn" to clean your surrounding area.



I helped, I couldn't just sit and watch!

And on special occasions the main street is watered down in anticipation of foot traffic lifting the dirt.

Had the community the means, I believe there would be a plaza, but for now the danza is held on the street adjacent to the church.  

The most grueling of the 3 days is the second, where dancers will perform in full dress and nonstop for several hours.  Many times the dancer's feet will be bleeding from continuous pounding, yet they continue on and must never lose pace.

Also involved in the danza are the kids.  They are trained to one day fill in for those who are older and can no longer dance.  The year that I went to El Aguacate, shirts were donated for the trainees and the skirts were made kid size.  The kids take pride in being chosen to train for la danza.


You may notice the guy in the middle?  He is not a kid but is the leader of the dance and as a dancer what he does you must do.  He picks the various steps and is always the most energetic of all the dancers, he jumps the highest, makes grand gestures which keeps the spirit's of the dancers alive.

If you are not careful, and not paying strict attention to la danza like the kids in the picture below he will scare you!  Which is what happened right after I took this picture.

The kids having fun in front of the camera

Often he will stop dead in his tracks and if you don't notice him spying you, he will make sure to get your attention as you see in the picture above.

Also on the second day, carnival rides and puestos line the streets while kids run up and down freely. 

On the third and final day, the dancers dance off and on to the Cross until late afternoon when the cross is taken back up to the mesita in the same fashion it was taken down.

The third day taking the cross back to the mesita

I can honestly say, that unlike many other fiestas held in Mexico, the true meaning behind the festivities is not lost in this community.  People do indeed look forward to the carnival, music, and dance but you will see just as many men, women, and children during the religious portions of the event as well.

One day I would like to go back and get more of the story and perhaps see if I can recognize some of the boys that I saw on my last trip.  I love to see this tradition carried on.  The kids enthusiasm and effort they put into the steps, for me it is truly magical.  I like to think that they will all turn from crime and violence when presented with it but then I am not that naive. Still there is hope.