La Raza Latina, Gonzaga’s Latino club, is having their Festival on March 31st this year!

Last semester, I signed up to dance in the festival. I’ve been practicing since November 2011 for two routines: folklórico and a tango-salsa-merengue medley.

Folklórico is traditional dancing from Mexico, and the dances we’re doing originate from different areas. We also wear special shoes that have nails in the heel and tip, so when we stomp it’s extra loud! The women wear colorful dresses festooned with ribbons (although in some areas, the women wear white dresses), and the men wear charros, a special kind of suit, and a hat. The suits the men wear can vary from state to state as well. I’ve never worn a traditional Mexican dress before, so I’m excited!

^ The way she’s moving her skirt is called “faldeo.” It’s a little hard to put together with the actual footwork of the dance, but once you have it down it’s a lot of fun!

Salsa, tango, and merengue are completely new to me. The techniques are different from folklórico, which is a lot of footwork. There’s a lot more partner-requiring moves in salsa, tango, and merengue, so we have many humorous moments during practice.

Some of the other dances that other members are participating in include bachata, vallenato, and punta, so we’ll have a lot of variety!

I haven’t performed a dance routine in front of an audience since 3rd grade, so I’m a little nervous. I’ll just have to keep practicing!

Until next time! 🙂

Heather, Class of 2015
English and Music Education double-major