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In San Antonio, a group of grandmothers, ages 73 to 86, formed a folklórico dance group known as Las Abuelitas de Oro.
Ballet folklórico is a traditional Mexican dance that combines regional dance with the techniques of ballet. It's an elaborate, intricate dance form, involving footwork and skirt movements, or "faldeo."
On a recent afternoon, the Abuelitas de Oro performed alongside an elementary school dance group from Hawthorne Academy.
Under a pavilion, Las Abuelitas de Oro elegantly held up the hem of their long, vibrant, Sinaloan dresses and waved them to the melody of traditional Mexican songs.
They were joined by a dance group from Hawthorne Academy, known as Los Rayitos de Sol. The children eagerly followed the Abuelitas. The sun highlighted the girls' colorful Jalisco ribbon dresses and illuminated the silver details on the boys' charro suits. The crowd joined in on the fun by clapping along to the taps of the dancers' feet.
Las Abuelitas de Oro have gained popularity in San Antonio because of their enthusiasm, joy, and ability to perform. And despite their older age, they can dance impressively over extended periods of time.
The women have no interest in hiding their age; they celebrate the fact that they have so much to share and can still dance and perform.
“I always like it when they call out the age. They say, 'we've got our group here from 73 to 86,' and you can hear the gasps in the audience,” 73-year-old dancer Michelle McDonald said. “I love that. I love that, yes, they need to know that we're fortunately blessed, that we can perform, that we can move like we do.”
McDonald and many of the women in the group rekindled their love for dance after a hiatus from that activity of over 30 years.
Although Las Abuelitas de Oro formed just last year, the ladies in the group actually met 15 years ago at a senior center offering folklórico dance classes. Today, there are eight women who perform and a few others who attend the weekly practices.
The group's co-sponsors, Katherine Vinton and Melissa Garza, organize their outreach to the community.
“I actually saw them when I was doing a professional development at a school. They came for like a one-off and were dancing,” Vinton said. “And I was like, oh my goodness, we need to do something to get these ladies into every single school here in San Antonio, because they're such a great example of our culture and how culture is transmitted through intergenerational experiences.”
Vinton is an assistant professor at Trinity University in the education department. She is an educational researcher, and her relationship with the Abuelitas de Oro has shifted her research toward focusing on abuelita epistemology, which she describes as “ways of knowing and being that we get from our ancestors, our abuelitas.” She shared that the way the community has embraced them is touching and is what gives them the push to keep going, even on hot days.
Sandy Rodriguez, 73, shared how being in Las Abuelitas de Oro has impacted her life.
“It just has introduced us, the group, to so much more. Working with the children has been just fantastic. They're beautiful, and they're so eager to learn. You know, they love to dance. And then, you know, we're showing them our culture,” Rodriguez said.
Now, the group is very involved with the community, having performed at The Tobin Center, UTSA and Trinity University, among other places. And now they collaborate with Hawthorne Academy. The abuelitas stepped in to teach students ballet folklórico at the request of the parents at Hawthorne who reached out to the principal asking for a ballet folklórico after-school program.
The program can build knowledge about and pride in the culture through dance and help students form bonds with their classmates. When the Los Rayitos de Sol group formed last year, there were about 30 students involved, and this year that number has grown to over 75 students.
Lynette Aguilar, a parent at Hawthorne Academy with two daughters in Los Rayitos de Sol shared how the program has made her daughters all the more excited to go to school.
“And so it truly is an abuelita relationship with the kids. The kids are so excited to see them. They're excited to see them dance— and also the abuelitas," said Aguilar. "It's a shared mutual relationship and adoration, because the abuelitas are so kind and caring with the kids. They help them with everything, from tying their shoes to (helping them put) on their skirts."
The Abuelitas de Oro go to Hawthorne Academy every week to teach the children folklórico dances. Some of the Abuelitas sponsor the purchase of dresses for individual kids to have the proper performance attire. Part of their mission is to be able to provide all of the students with folklórico outfits.
Las Abuelitas de Oro are working on building their audience in person and on social media, and towards becoming a nonprofit to expand their impact and sustain their work.
Vinton shared that becoming a nonprofit would provide them more funding opportunities by applying for grants and attracting community sponsorships. Being a nonprofit would also allow the group to continue beyond their founding members and formalize the group's mission to preserve Mexican cultural traditions and promote intergenerational learning.
