Elderly dancers in Morelia (Michoacán)

"The old men came out on Saturday. They've been dancing like this in Patzcuaro for at least half a millennium. They are the Viejitos (sometimes modified to "Viejecitos" ) -- "little old men" -- and their masked, costumed dance is a little bit history, a little bit floor show. Which is appropriate, since this corner of Michoacan is a little bit open-air museum and a little bit tourist stop."

"In one version of the story, the dance of the Viejitos was originally the dance of the dissed. According to this account, the stiff, lurching, rhythmically challenged dance originated as a way for the indigenous population to make fun of their elderly Spanish overlords. This explanation seems supported by the dancers' pink masks, the color of a fair skin that has encountered tropical sun for the first time."

"Au contraire, say other sources (though they say it in Spanish): It is a celebration of old age and reflects traditional veneration of the elderly. They contend that the dance was performed in the region even before the European conquest."

By Jerry V. Haines
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, February 24, 2008

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• baile
• danza
• tradicional
• traditional
• dance
• viejitos
• michoacan
• morelia
• mexico
• p'urepecha
• tarasco
• indios
• indian

[tageca1982]

lastima que el crimen este ganando.

[sdangela]

I will be traveling there soon! :)

[michoacanoz]

i love michoacan. viva morelia michoacan nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[karlajuly1]

VIVA Morelia (Michoacán)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!