Aztec warrior dancer in front of Cathedral

MEXICO CITY — With feather plumes and dozens of shells on their ankles, Concheros dance for several hours at Mexico City’s Zócalo. During their ritual dances, they invoke different elements of nature.

José Luis Hernández, a.k.a. “Itztli,” is the leader of the Mexica-Chichimeca warrior dance group Mazacoatl. He has been dancing in Mexico City’s Historical Center for 40 years. Mazacoatl performs next to the Metropolitan Cathedral.

The dance is a representation of the mechanics of the universe. We imitate animals’ movements and gestures,” he told Zenger.

The ritual dance was first performed on June 25, 1531, on the Cerro de Sangremal in the state of Querétaro, Mexico, said Iztli. Today, people call the tradition Conquest dance, Aztec dance or Chichimec dance, and the dancers Concheros.

An Aztec dance song has different movements, which dancers classify by names. Some of the best known are the rabbit dance, the snake dance and the deer dance, but there are more than 80 options.

Concheros play musical instruments inspired by pre-Hispanic whistles, drums, conch shell trumpets or scrapers. They also use a particular type of vessel flute called ocarina and a slit drum named teponaztli.

“If you listen to pre-Hispanic music, you will fall into an altered state of consciousness. … Every instrument is sacred and symbolizes a sound of nature, like the song of a bird,” he said.

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