The theater dance of the Tecuan of Tlalixtaquilla

By Edmundo Fidencio Pérez Escamilla -Master, chronicler and cultural promoter of Tlalixtaquilla Gro-.

Tecuan in the Nahuatl language means wild animal. This dance came to the municipality of Tlalixtaquilla to stay in the year 1832, twenty years after the founding of this town, according to research with the elderly, are three people deceased and have been inheriting the knowledge of this dance , It is said that he was called the first flute musician Don Bacho, died and resulted in another one known as Catino, then in the 1950's it is directed by Aurelio Escamilla Alvarado and is currently directed by Caritino Merino Miron, this dance tells the events of a group Of peasants who at that time the lands of sowing in each rainy season were known as tlacocoles, these sowings were affected by wild animals that avoided in the region, among them the most ferocious and wild was a jaguar.

                                                                                

At night, the chickens, goats, and cattle would arrive at the farms of the village, and the peasants, tired and tired, thought how to finish the animal, old Lucas and Pancho Melo of the town would be the captains to direct the search since they were the ones who knew the Region of the mountain, went to invite the old couple living on the outskirts of the town, and began to disguise themselves as different animals that lived in the region as buzzards and vultures, some of goats or masks that caused fear and accompanied by His dogs began to search for this animal through all the high mountains, trapping them, but the astute animal did not fall into any of them, but one day they lowered them and managed to get them out of their burrows and began the difficult fight until they died. And distributed his flesh among the people of the small town.

Tired with their clothes torn by the jaguar but happy to have killed him eating and toasting, one of them took his reed flute and his leather drum and began to play different sones and musical notes, and began the party dancing until dawn.

The torn and torn clothing represents the tired struggle to kill the jaguar, the hats to the peasants, the costumes they make themselves, the tail hat of approximately 40 to 60 cm. Of natural palm, because this dance is hard wearing work shoes and thick clothes, can be patched broken or dirty of colorful colors and masks of horrifying aspects, A reed flute and a drum of skin are the instruments that a single person They play different musical notes and dance variants steps like: The little band, the basket, the zapateado, the carrerita, the ligerito, the knee, the square and the crazy syrup.

Since its arrival in this town of Tlalixtaquilla this dance is fundamental in its customs and traditions, from October 28 to November 2, highlighting the two days of November, people leaving home and waiting to see in the streets to Young children or masters disguised as jaguars or tecuanes, the first day they go to the foot of the hill of the cloud some are already disguised and others there disguise themselves hanging in their hat bouquets of dead flower, from there the tecuanes bring the tiger and arriving To the town they begin to dance from house to house and the families reward them giving them the offering that put their deceased in their altars of days of dead, due to the diffusion that has been given to this dance through a cultural promoter this dance To have developed enough, has won in contests that municipal presidents have organized although sometimes they have profited with her, in spite of that they go ahead because it has been invited to burials, walks of boyfriends in his r This dance is able to present it on stage to give its show without losing its participation in customs and traditions of its people.

BOOK OF THE TECHNICIANS

Information obtained from the book DE LOS TECUANES.

If you want to purchase this book, call the cell: 7351506920 or send an email to: cami17_4@hotmail.com; The www.facebook.com/OscarCortesPalma

This book has a total of 232 pages, also contains maps, photos and scripts of dance-drama of the Tecuan.

Book of the Tecuanes

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