Gazing into the mirror, I adjust the ruffles on the collar of my blue Jalisco dress before leaving to film the promotion video for Ballet Folklórico’s Spring Quarter show. It’s been three years since I last wore a traditional Mexican dress, and my heart swells from getting to wear this beautiful piece of history. As I walk away from the mirror, the skirt billows around me, making it look as if I’ve already begun the dance with each step.

Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Northwestern: Ritmo de Mis Ancestros is a student group that performs Mexican folklórico dance to showcase the beauty and history of Mexico. The club reflects Mexico’s diversity through the different dances the group performs and the traditional clothing, or vestuario, that goes with each performance.

The group’s choreography chair is in charge of these essential pieces for the dances, so learning about the vestuario is an important part of the role. Weinberg third-year Jocelyn Almazan, the incoming choreography chair, is in charge of Ballet Folklórico’s vestuario for the upcoming show. Almazan said she began researching the vestuario she was now in charge of because she wanted to make sure she understood its significance.  

“It’s really nice to be able to work on something that feels very connective, not only for me to my own culture, but bringing others back to their roots,” Almazan said.

SESP third-year Jocelyn Chavez, Ballet Folklórico’s incoming president and former choreography chair, said overseeing the vestuario means being in charge of a part of Mexico’s history. She said when a dancer wears the vestuario, they also show pride in their culture.

There is no definite number of styles of vestuario in Mexico; each state or region has its own style and variations. The student group has vestuario for five different Mexican states: Jalisco, Veracruz, Chiapas, Baja California and Sinaloa.

At the 2019 Spring Show, a Ballet Folklórico member dances in a red Jalisco dress. Photo courtesy of Christian Sultz.

Jalisco

The folklórico dress features a high ruffled collar and a flowing skirt adorned at the ends with colorful ribbons. The designs around the collar can feature lace and ribbons, but each dress is different. This vestuario represents the mixture of Spanish and Indigenous culture: The style was adapted from Spanish colonial attire, and the Mayans and Aztecs adapted the dresses from silk to cotton and added color. The additional features of ribbons and ruffles were added to the dresses to enhance the dress for folklórico dance performances.

This yellow Jalisco dress demonstrates how the added ribbons add to the beauty of the dance. Photo courtesy of Christian Sultz.
During the 2019 Spring Show, a dancer dons the traditional white Veracruz dress along with a black apron embroidered with a rose and a white lace shawl. Photo courtesy of Christian Sultz.

Veracruz

White with a flowered lace overlay, the Veracruz dress is another representation of Mexico’s history. The dress was influenced by the fashion of Spanish colonial settlers and adapted to lighter materials that allowed women to wear them during daily tasks, especially in the fields. The white color, which was popular in purification rituals in Indigenous communities, was meant to repel the Veracruz heat. The hairpiece that goes with the ensemble is typically red; white flowers are placed on the right side if the dancer is married or on the left, if she’s single.

A dancer poses elegantly at the end of her set during the 2019 Spring Show, showcasing the delicate embroidery of the Chiapas vestuario. Photo courtesy of Christian Sultz.

Chiapas

While most of Ballet Folklórico’s dresses are made of cotton, the Chiapas dress is made of silk and tulle. Chiapas dresses stand out for their black silk off-the-shoulder shirt and skirt, highlighting their bright embroidered designs. The colorful embroidery features flowers and bright ribbons on black tulle, which represent the Chiapas jungle and its flowers.

Two dancers wear the cowboy-esque attire associated with the Baja California dance named calabaceado. Photo courtesy of Christian Sultz.

Baja California

The group’s vestuario for Baja California consists of a denim skirt or jeans, red plaid long-sleeve, red handkerchief, cowboy boots and tejana, a type of cowboy hat. Although the ensemble is not traditional vestuario, the attire has been associated with the ballet folklórico genre because of the vaquero, cowboy, culture prevalent in that region.

Two dancers in Sinaloa dresses are photographed mid-faldeo (skirt movement). Photo courtesy of Christian Sultz.

Sinaloa

Unlike the other dresses, the Sinaloa vestuario dates back to the 20th century when the Sinaloa government wanted to create a specific vestuario to represent its dance style on a national level. When the government made a call for designs in 1959, they chose Sinaloa dance teacher Rosa Andrade’s design. The dresses feature off-the-shoulder necklines made of flower-patterned cotton with lace, ruffles and ribbons. The long skirt has sections of flower and solid-colored cotton lined with lace and ribbons. Historically, the flower-patterned sections featured popular products from Sinaloa.

Performing in the vestuario “definitely feels very intoxicating,” Almazan said. “It fills you with so much pride and confidence, and you feel like the most beautiful person in the world.”

Some students, like me, join Ballet Folklórico to find community. I joined to connect with other Latine students by celebrating our culture, which is one of the club's founding principles.

“It’s a huge thing to be Mexican or Latino in general at a PWI,” Chavez said. She elaborated that performing traditional Mexican folklórico dance on campus is a way to celebrate the Latine community.  

For me, wearing the vestuario is a way to honor my culture and ancestors that have made it possible for me to be here today. Attending a predominantly white insitution (PWI) as a person of color is difficult, and visibly representing our community through cultural events sends a powerful message that we are here thriving. Hopefully, it serves as reassurance to other POC students to see that they are not alone.

“Ballet Folklórico de Northwestern has the mission of preserving Mexican culture by showcasing folklorico dance on campus,” the group’s mission statement reads. “We wish to increase our awareness of our ancestry as well as serving as catalysts for others to take pride in their own backgrounds.”

Although I haven’t had the chance to dance for Ballet Folklórico, hearing my members talk about the thrill of performing in vestuario has me counting down the days until our Spring show. The show is an opportunity to showcase our culture and demonstrate the perseverance and strength of the Latine community blossoming at Northwestern.