Jarabe Tapato By Alaina Jimenez Marcela Chuda Nefi

Jarabe Tapatío By: Alaina Jimenez, Marcela Chuda, Nefi Gamez, Kaisha Gooch

A Courtship Dance Jarabe Tapatío is the national dance of Mexico, also known as the Mexican hat dance originated nearly 200 years ago in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The dance has captured the souls of many, including traditional music lovers in Mexico and around the world. To this day, Jarabe Tapatío exceeds most dances in history, courtship and choreography.

The Dance ● ● ● Difficulty level of this dance is advance. There can be numerous participants with no limit. A woman and a man perform this dance. Dancers stand somewhat erect with confidence. The woman holds her skirt and the man clasps his hands behind his back. First, the woman rejects the man's advances and then she accepts them. This dance has a definite sexual component in metaphor (the original reason for disapproval by authorities). During the dance, the man places his sombrero on the ground. After hopping, kicking, and sliding around the sombrero, the partner leans forward and picks up the hat. The Mexican hat dance and the dancer’s clothing are symbols of Mexican heritage. The vibrancy and shine of this dance is characterized by charm and grace with the vivid color of its clothing. Women wear a wide, colorfully decorated skirt and blouse outfit, called China Poblana. Men traditionally wear a charro - a black suit with metallic embroidery. The man’s pant legs are lined with silver buttons highlighting his flashy kicks and stamp moves. The music that accompanies the dance may be performed by mariachi bands or other types of string instrument groups. The song increases its tempo as the steps and storyline of the dance intensifies. The jarabe tapatío dance is a Mexican folk art and its symbol is the national identity fostered by post revolutionary efforts to unify and celebrate its traditions and culture.

Jarabe Tapatío’s Origins ● ● The word jarabe comes from Arabic xarab, meaning “herb mixture”, which may refer to the mix of influences that created the dance style, including waltz, polka, and indigenous American dances. The earliest evidence of the dance comes from the late 18 th century. It was originally danced by female couples in order to avoid the disapproval of the church.

After the War ● ● ● ● Since 1840, anti-Latino prejudice has led to illegal deportations, school segregation and even lynching. It largely began in 1848 when the U. S. won the Mexican-American War. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo marked the end of the war and granted the U. S. 55 percent of Mexican territory. Those who decided to stay were granted U. S. citizenship. The country gained a considerable Mexican-American population. As the 19 th century wore on political events in Mexico made emigration to the U. S. popular. This was great news for American employers who desperately needed cheap labor to build new tracks for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Though Latin Americans were critical to the U. S. economy they were treated as a foreign underclass. Everything from their language, skin color and countries of origin were used as a pretext for discrimination. Stereotypes were started, stating that those who spoke Spanish were lazy, stupid and undeserving.

Brutality Continues. . . ● Mob violence against all that spoke Spanish was common in the late 19 th century on to early 20 th century. ● Even children became victims to mob violence. In 1911, a mob of over 100 men hung a 14 year old boy, Antonio Gomez, after being arrested for murder. Instead of serving time in jail, they drug his body through the streets. ● Latino’s killed by the mob is estimated into the thousands. ● Documentation only exists for 547 cases.

Fighting Back! ● ● The violence and cruelty lasted until the 1920’s, when the Mexican government put pressure on the U. S. to stop the violence. Unfortunately, violence, discrimination and a lot of these same issues still exist today. The Latin-American people also fought back through dance when the Jarabe Tapatio was briefly banned in the 19 th century for being “sexually suggestive. ” This didn’t stop them from dancing, in fact, the dance became more popular. More elements of rebel expression were added and they used this opportunity to make a statement that expressed freedom and political independence. Keeping the dance and aspects of their culture alive.

Evolution and Cultural Celebrations ● The dance is performed throughout the U. S. in schools, cultural festivals, political rallies, dance competitions, social gatherings, and church functions to express Mexico’s rich cultural traditions. ● The Jarabe Tapatio operated as an important piece of civic ceremonies, the educational system, and the efforts to incorporate the peasant population. ● In the 1960’s and 1970’s the dance served to culturally unite a minority community against prejudicial government policies.

Contribution to American Culture ● In the 1950’s, Mexican folkloric dance was one of the many types of dances taught in public schools. The dance was a simplified version, gave a brief historical description, and detailed the costuming of the dance. ● By the 1960’s the dance accompanied the Chicano movement’s quest to recover cultural identity that had been disregarded by mainstream Americans. ● It also combated a response against discriminatory practices that included the unfair treatment of farm workers, unjust housing practices, and lack of educational opportunities.

Acculturation ● Although the dance has been simplified since the 1950’s, it is still considered the national anthem of folkloric dance. It represents the national dance of Mexico, it embodies the nationality, the pride in the culture. It’s the dance that is used to identify Mexico. ● Castro-Paramo a dance student from the Teocalli Cultural Academy in Fresno California, said that for the Chicana/os performing the Jarabe Tapatio, “it gives them pride in their ethnicity, it gives them a connection with Mexico. ”

Losses From Acculturation Into America ● As with any people diving into a new culture, many things were lost. ● The dance itself was simplified. ● They lost the community celebrations of many of their big holidays, such as The Day of the Dead. ● Their religion as it comes to community. There is such a large variation of beliefs in the United states, that religion is not celebrated as widely spread as it was in their homeland. ● Their native language did not come with them into America. Many still teach it, but many do not and the language disappears from the family. While there approximately 55 million hispanics living in America, only approximately 38 million of those people.

Social, Economic, and Political Structures that Devalue the Latinos ● ● ● Social - The way many Americans still view the Latinos today is very apparent in many social settings. There are many slang words used today that are derogatory towards them, there a large number of stereotypes, and many people today still show hostility towards them. (story? ) Economic - It is proven to much more difficult for Latinos to earn a degree, as many travel to America for fairer jobs then can be found in Mexico. Those jobs pay decent for someone without a degree, but tend to not lead into higher education. Those that do pursue a higher education on average make $0. 80 to every dollar that their white counterpart makes. Political - The hispanics have been a hot topic in politics with all the talk of the great wall to be built. It is estimated that only 20% of Latinos in America are here undocumented. There has been constant battle to make it more difficult for them to become a US citizen, whether that be by eliminating citizenship for children of immigrants born in the US, or by eliminating education visas, the political system always has people in it aiming for these goals.

Commonalities of the Latinos and the Americans The Hispanic and American people really are quite similar. We are both in a progressive generation, learning to adapt to the new world and the new attitudes. I have learned to appreciate many of the hispanic values that I have learned about, such as family importance and cultural importance. The Jarabe Tapatio is one of the major parts of their culture that they have not let disappear. In this new progressive era, I don’t think it will ever be gone now.

Works Cited Author, Unknown. “Hispanics in the US Fast Facts. ” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Mar. 2018, www. cnn. com/2013/09/20/us/hispanics-in-the-u-s-/index. html. Author, Unknown. “The Mexican Hat Dance. ” Religion in Mexico, www. facts-about-mexico. com/mexican-hat-dance. html. Blakemore, Erin. “The Brutal History of Anti-Latino Discrimination in America. ” History. com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Sept. 2017, www. history. com/news/thebrutal-history-of-anti-latino-discrimination-in-america. Mendoza-Garcia, G. (2013). “Bodily Renderings of the Jarabe Tapatio in Early Twentieth-Century Mexico and the Millennial United States: Race, Nation, Class, and Gender. ” UC Riverside. Pro. Quest ID: Mendoza. Garcia_ucr_0032 D_11336. Merritt ID: ark: /13030/m 51 v 5 js 4. Retrieved from https: //escholarship. org/uc/item/8 c 47 k 3 gm. Macias, Jose, and Dedrick Asante-Muhammad. “Latino Heritage Month: Economic Inequality and Latinos. ” The Road to Zero Wealth: How the Racial Wealth Divide Is Hollowing Out America's Middle Class and What We Can Do About It | Prosperity Now, 28 Sept. 2018, prosperitynow. org/blog/latino-heritage-month-economicinequality-and-latinos.