Ahhh to dance! This is one of my greatest pleasures in life. It is my way of expressing myself and saying, “I feel great!” “I like you!” “I enjoy your company!” “I look great!” “What great music!” “Come on!” “Shall we dance?”
Dancing makes me feel healthy, happy, sensual, attractive, ALIVE!!
Dancing To me is a gift that I appreciate and use at any and all opportunities. Since I was a little girl it has been my favorite thing to do, let me tell you all about it….
When I was six years old, my parents brought me to Puerto Vallarta and it was in the mid-seventies. I had aunts and uncles that were already a part of the first Folkloric Ballet “Xalisco” and they were set up at the famous restaurant La Iguana. My mother had a gorgeous voice, a beautiful face and a terrific personality that made for a perfect match with the “Ranchero Music” to take on all the famous Mariachi songs and ballads and consistently was able to make the crowd cheer with her contagious performances. The audience would ask for encore after encore and she would very happily sing another song for the enthusiastic audience. I remember feeling so very proud of my mother that I wanted to run up on stage and let everyone know that she was my mother!!
My father was former military with the general characteristic of always ordering everyone around and now had to stand by my mother and be one of the charismatic folkloric dancers and was always smiling at his admirers. He, with his very masculine athletic figure was always sought after by the audience after the performances to pose for pictures as mementos for the “turistas”. I have to admit, that made me so jealous and overprotective of the fact that I had to share him with the ladies audience.
As should be expected, after watching my aunts and uncles at their ballet rehearsals throughout my youth, once I reached the “height” requirement I very quickly joined the Folkloric dance company along with my younger sisters who were a hit dancing other dances apart from the now called “Atemajac” Folkloric Dance Company. Our routines and dances entertained the tourists at the Mexican Fiestas at their hotels where they experienced the buffets of Mexican food along with Tequila Margaritas, Regional Costumes, and regional songs from at least 4 different states in the Mexican Republic. All this led to learning how to quickly change outfits from hairstyles even down to the earrings. This puts me in a very unique category where the wife can get ready faster than the husband!
My father became an excellent choreographer and entire team, singer, “floreador de reata” which is a lasso expert, cock fights, including dancing with tourists that would get up on stage, always sharing with them the joy and richness of the Mexican culture. Present day, my father is currently a Tour Guide, my mother actively sings, but solely at family reunions and with friends, I sell Real Estate, we all love Puerto Vallarta and had never leave since I was little.
In short, I danced professionally (with all my clothes on) until I was 22 years old and now I still love to dance but with different music and it is still my favorite hobby.
I enjoy dancing with my husband, who is a musician, and take the opportunity to do so with live music especially where there is great ventilation and in communication with nature.
When I want to remember old times as a dance professional I quickly go and take a stroll by Los Arcos in the main plaza to see the wonderful show put on by the “Xutla Ballet” and when I hear the “Jarabe Tapatio”, “La Negra”, “Los Machetes”, “La Culebra”, “La Bamba”, “El Tilingo Lingo”, etc, my feet start to move by themselves and I have a smile on my face that lasts all night long!
The feeling I get after a great night of dancing is incomparable to anything else I like to do! Try it, you’ll like it!! You will not regret it!! Dance like if no one is watching, or even better, dance as if the only person watching is the one you love!
Shall we dance?