Dancers @ The Feria

It is interesting to me how the culture of Mexico maintains their traditions by having their children learn the traditional dances of this country. I wish we still did that in the USA. In addition to the feria in Chapala there were three different groups who did regional dances. It was hot in the sun, but these kids danced with gusto - in some instances for up to 20 minutes per performance.

They truly seemed to be enjoying themselves. The young girl above was so beautiful. She'll break hearts some day. She had the most beautiful smile. She danced with the Ballet Folklorico Chapala.

I had never seen headdresses such as these. These dancers are known as the Tastoan Dancers. They danced to a lone fiddle and it had a haunting sound. Their headdresses are now of crepe paper flowers but in past times, their headdresses were made of feathers.

The amount of work that went into this feria with artesans, dancers and lecturers is staggering to me. I commended Marianne Carlson for the excellence of the feria. She does this out of the generosity of her heart. She finds donors to pay the cost of bringing each artesan to the show and they are not charged a fee for being in the show. Her goal is the promotion of the folkartists of Mexico.
Very, very commendable and so needed now with tourism down to such a large degree. So, put it on your calendar for next November to head to Chapala for this great show. You won't regret it.