Dance of the Storytellers

Dance of the Storytellers | Cascade: University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences

Traveling to Mexico, preserving a cultural heritage

“It would have been the experience of a lifetime. Especially for a nine-year-old.

“It was East Los Angeles, 2005, and Romario Bautista was asked to participate in his community’s annual cultural festival.

“The Danza de la Pluma ceremony—“Dance of the Feather”—is a cherished tradition of one of Mexico’s indigenous groups, the Zapotec of the state of Oaxaca. The danza reenacts the tribe’s fierce battles against invading Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s.

“As Mexicans have moved to the United States over the years, the danza ceremony has moved with them, binding migrant communities in the US to their homeland and preserving culture and history….”

For the full story, go to: Dance of the Storytellers | Cascade: University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences