Nuestras Raíces
Danza Xitlalli (pronounced Seat-la-lee) continues the traditions passed down through the oral traditions of the past master teachers of danza, our Ancestors. Xitlalli means star in Nahuatl and Danza is a part of the great cosmology of Ancient Mexico, it honors movement as a method of transformation and is done in a circle representing the Cosmos.
Danza is a sacred movement that weaves together the sacred elements of the four directions, songs, sacred instruments, feathers, regalia, flowers, drumming and copal to cleanse, purify, protect, and open a pathway for prayers.
Founded in 1981 in San Francisco, Danza Xitlalli is the city’s oldest danza circle (group). Though its lineage was formally established in Mexico in the early 1900s, the practice of danza, rooted in Indigenous history and worldview, has existed long before the arrival of colonizers in the Americas.
Danza Xitlalli honors the Natural World and creates a space where Indigenous traditions and wisdom can be passed on to future generations. One of the oldest Danza Azteca Mexica Indigenous ceremonial dance groups north of the Mexican border, Danza Xitlalli was founded by Maestra Macuilxóchitl and Maestro Francisco Camplis, under the guidance of El General Pedro Rodriguez and the banner of Mexico’s Mesa del Santo Niño de Atocha.
Don Pedro Rodriguez has been involved in the Danza Azteca tradition since the 1950’s, practicing under the banner of “La Mesa del Santo Niño de Atocha”, a branch of danza founded in 1906 by Gabriel Osorio in Mexico. Born in Celaya, Mexico, son of Yaqui and Chichimeca parents, he currently lives in Axiochapan, Morelos in Mexico. Starting in the 1960s, Don Pedro began teaching classes and making presentations in the Danza tradition throughout Mexico. In 1968, he represented Mexico in a cultural exchange program in Cuba, the beginning of Don Pedro’s long career as a cultural ambassador and teacher for Danza Azteca. In the late ’70s, he traveled throughout the United States with the White Roots of Peace and Four Arrows, both groups of Indigenous cultural leaders from Canada, U.S, Mexico, and Guatemala.
In the 1970’s he founded Danza Xitlalli in Mexico. In the mid-80s, Don Pedro started being sponsored regularly by various communities throughout California and the southwest to teach danza and its history, to teach about and lead traditional ceremonies, to participate in presentations, and to lead workshops in the arts and crafts involved in all aspects of the danza tradition. In the late ‘80s, he received the title of General de la Danza from Maestro Felipe Aranda, increasing his authority and responsibility to sponsor new danza groups under the banner of La Mesa del Santo Niño de Atocha.
He is also highly skilled in traditional danza music, with four recordings of sacred songs and music. He has been honored in Mexico for his contributions for preserving indigenous traditions. He has been instrumental in extending the reach of the danza traditions in the United States and increasing the number of groups officially received into a formal affiliation with La Mesa del Santo Niño de Atocha in Mexico.
Macuilxóchitl Cruz-Chavez was born in Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo of Otomi parents. She began her life commitment to the Aztec dance tradition in Mexico in the early 1970s, studying with Maestro Andrés Segura. She danced with Danza Xitlalli de Mexico, under the leadership of Maestro Pedro Rodriguez who became her long-term teacher and mentor. She has participated in many cultural and educational tours throughout the United States, starting out as one of the youngest members traveling with the White Roots of Peace and Four Arrows in 1977-79.
In 1981, she formed the first Danza Azteca group in the Bay Area, Danza Xitlalli de San Francisco, which has been an active catalyst and supporter for a number of other danza groups that have emerged over the last 25 years.
Macuilxóchitl has dedicated her life to advancing and preserving the cultural and spiritual values of indigenous peoples through her work in La Danza. In 1996, she completed the process to become an officially recognized Jefa (teacher and leader) and raised the banner of Danza Xitlalli de San Francisco as part of la Mesa del Santo Niño de Atocha in ceremonies in the United States and Mexico.
A talented teacher, storyteller and singer, she offers danza workshops to San Francisco and Sacramento children and youth, imparting her knowledge of dance, traditional crafts, and traditional values useful for survival in today’s world. With Danza Xitlalli de San Francisco, she has established a strong network of community and agencies in the Bay Area and throughout the United States that draw upon her and this danza group to help with community-building and culturally empowering activities and ceremonies.
She currently travels regularly between Sacramento and San Francisco.
