![\"F\u00e1tima](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC03100_web.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1\")
The folkloric group, alongside Everett Middle School students and contemporary dance studio Rising Rhythm, used this opportunity to showcase Salvadoran culture with the theme \u201cOur Stories Front and Center.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These two vastly different generations of women \u2014 separated by age but united in the art of Salvadoran folkloric dance \u2014 performed in sync and in a fundamentally Salvadoran way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their dresses flowed in arches as they swung their hands back and forth to the beat of \u201cEl Sombrero Azul.\u201d Their handmade baskets filled with paper coal were lifted in the air in a rhythmic pattern during \u201cEl Carbonero.\u201d Dancers\u2019 faces carried big smiles throughout \u201cEl Carnaval de San Miguel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The members of Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz donned traditional Salvadoran blue and white dresses. The middle schoolers wore dark blue, yellow and green dresses adorned with hand-painted designs resembling traditional Salvadoran folk art across the front of the skirts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ramirez stood in the front. She smiled as she heard the Salvadorans within the crowd cheer on the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt brought me a lot of happiness,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cThinking about how this started as nothing and to get to this point: It was a huge success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The students, who had been practicing since March under the guidance of Rising Rhythm instructor Daniela Garcia, danced proudly as the crowd cheered for them. And when their speakers malfunctioned temporarily, they even improvised. They didn\u2019t skip a beat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was really nervous but then I got the hang of it,\u201d Litzy Interian Vega, an eighth-grade student from Everett Middle School, said after their performance. \u201cI felt proud to represent the people and their culture so they could feel proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The collaboration between Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz, Rising Rhythm and Everett Middle School began in March. F\u00e1tima Ram\u00edrez, a member of Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz and the Executive Director of Acci\u00f3n Latina \u2014 the nonprofit that publishes El Tecolote \u2014 spoke with Rising Rhythm founder Jessica Recinos about the group’s goal to one day perform in Carnaval. F\u00e1tima learned that there was already an established connection between Rising Rhythm and Everett Middle School. After a few conversations, the plan to dance in the parade was solidified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jos\u00e9 Guevara, an instructor at Everett Middle School, said the student\u2019s reactions have been positive and that the school’s spirit has been lifted since the creation of the Carnaval club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of the biggest daunting things for my Carnaval club this year was getting in front of everybody in the auditorium,\u201d he said. \u201cA couple of the girls stepped up as leaders. We gave a motivational speech like: \u2018We got this. We are going to rock it. They are going to love it.\u2019 And they did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guevara, Ram\u00edrez and Recinos also wanted to ensure that the students used this time to understand the significance of Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz\u2019s art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery practice we had, we would have a check-out question where we would reflect on either cultural aspects of our own lives and how it connects back to El Salvador or where we\u2019re from,\u201d Guevara said. \u201cPart of that has to be also passed onto youth or else it’s lost.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recinos also felt an urgency to put Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz\u2019s art front and center. While Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz has been around since the \u201980s, Recinos believes the group is still unseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was really my mission to support F\u00e1tima and all of Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz to be seen,\u201d Recinos said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s an urgency that Gloria Ramirez feels as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI start to think that if younger people don\u2019t start joining the group, it will all end,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cI get fearful that people won’t join, won\u2019t learn and the dances won\u2019t continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ramirez started Grupo Folkl\u00f3rico Ma\u00edz in 1985 to raise awareness of the Salvadoran Civil War that spanned between 1979 to 1992. During that time, the group took donations and bought necessities and medical supplies for the Salvadoran people impacted by the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group became more involved with showcasing Salvadoran culture after the war. Ramirez has kept that tradition alive for over three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She joked that her Carnaval performance this year might be her first and last at the parade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am also no longer of the age to continue doing these big dances,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cThe walk is big.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She hopes to pass on the tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am happy that there is going to be representation and that people will see the folkloric dances,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cIt means a lot that they see us and take note of the dances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After dancing through 20 blocks of the Mission District, Gloria Ramirez, 66, felt proud to have represented Salvadoran culture on such a grand stage. Ramirez, a Salvadoran immigrant and long-time domestic worker, had dreamt about this moment since she first created Grupo Folklorico Ma\u00edz 38 years ago. But due to a lack of resources, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":56301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"by Daniel Eduardo Hernandez","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[5083,23907],"coauthors":[23943],"class_list":["post-56298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-carnaval-san-francisco","tag-salvadoran-representation","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Gloria](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC02550_web.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1\")
![\"Members](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC03205_web.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1\")
![\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC02434_web.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Gloria](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC02627_web.jpg?resize=1200%2C1066&quality=89&ssl=1\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC03164_web.jpg?resize=960%2C1200&quality=89&ssl=1\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Gloria](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC03237_web.jpg?resize=960%2C1200&quality=89&ssl=1\")
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC03257_web.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/DSC03193_web.jpg?resize=800%2C1200&quality=89&ssl=1\")