Sunday, January 29, 2011 — Aztec dancers next door

Next door to Casa Tejedora is the newly opening Museum of Ketzalkoat. Dr. Ayotl, painter, sculptor, spiritual seeker and Director of Cultural Affairs for El Tuito invited everyone in the area to three days of opening celebrations. His vision for the museum is to share his knowledge of his ancestors (Mayan and Aztec) with others through his artwork literature and workshops. The three day events started with a blessing of the Museum by the local Priest. That still arouses some question marks in my curious mind. The second day featured an inauguration by local municipal dignitaries. We waited until the third day for the "Purification and Opening to the Universe." We were invited to bring an offering of food or drink to share and also asked to wear white. We didn't have white.

Aztec dancers performed and art work was exhibited and for sale. The dancers were accompanied by the same drummer I had seen while in Puerto Vallarta at the playa. He and the dancers all wore headdresses made of turkey feathers, some natural and some brilliantly dyed red and blue. I was so motivated that I finally figured out how to activate the movie function on my camera. So I believe I have some striking records of this affair. They danced a very long time with energy beyond belief. It appeared to consist of a mostly family unit. The oldest woman we considered the grandmother. A woman, possibly in her sixties, beautiful and shapely seemed to be the leader. The young middle aged daughter was adorned with blue dyed headdress and a fair amount of facial, arm and leg skin painting or tattooing. (I couldn't tell which.) Each of these women appeared to be in charge of certain ritual aspects of this amazing performance.

The dancers performed in an oval to round space and the viewers all sat in a wide arc facing the southern wall of the building. That outer wall features a fountain and relief sculpture of one of the many gods being honored in this environment. The goddess of water is sitting in the pond at the bottom and water comes into her head and then overflows into the pond. Every so often the younger woman refreshed the small receptacle that held a fire and was placed on a cloth in the middle of the dancing area. One teenage woman looked to be a granddaughter. There were two boys still learning their dances and serving as a great source of entertainment. They were right on during some of the more routine steps and then when things progressed to more intricate moves they were all eyes, trying to improve their performances....more to come in a little while.