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SIERRA VISTA — With twirling skirts and braided hair, Nortub Montijo and Jacqueline Ballesteros continued the tradition of Mexican folkloric dance and China Poblana Saturday.
Mexican culture, food and dance were a part of the Cinco de Mayo Fiesta at Veterans’ Memorial Park.
The China Poblana contest is a Mexican tradition for young women and a way to share their talents and culture with the community, said Angelina Pequeno, a contest organizer.
China Poblana is a style of dress that is credited to Catarina de San Juan, or Mirra. According to legend, she was an Indian princess taken to Mexico for slavery. Her clothing is credited as an influence on the region’s style of dressing.
  
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Typically, China Poblana dress includes a white blouse, red and green skirt and the national symbols of Mexico. Flowers or ribbons of red, white and green, are also incorporated in their dress and hair.
Montijo’s dress was a Spanish-inspired one, she said. While Spanish dresses were usually darker, the white dress was typical of those worn in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The white cotton was more comfortable in the heat and humidity, she said.
She performed a folkloric dance from Veracruz.
Ballesteros performed La Negra, a traditional dance from Jalisco, Mexico. The dance involves a lot of movement with the long skirt of the dress.
“It’s a lot of a fun,” Ballesteros said.
Besides skirt movement, zapateado, or footwork that includes tapping, is also important in Mexican folkloric dance, Montijo said.
As a member of the Dolores Alma dance group, Montijo gets to continue the tradition of her homeland, she said.
“I love the feeling it gives me,” she said.
The annual League of United Latin American Citizen’s Cinco de Mayo festival is a scholarship fundraiser and cultural event, celebrating Mexican and Latin heritage, said LULAC president Ruben Ortega.
On Friday, the organization awarded 15 local students with scholarships, said Joe Paeza, the scholarship coordinator.
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta will continue today from noon to 4 p.m.
Bored wrote on May 8, 2008 5:55 PM: