Pachuquísmo: La Mezcla Brings Pachuca Culture Forward

Abstract

PachuquísmoLa Mezcla Brings Pachuca Culture Forward Vanessa Sanchez (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Dancers Kirsten Millan, Vanessa Sanchez, Sandy Vasquez, and Emmeline Gonzalez-Beban, (left to right). From Pachuquísmo, 2020. Photograph by Beth LaBerge, KQED Arts. As a Chicana-Native choreographer and dancer, my work is inspired by history, tradition, and our collective experiences. I believe that movement and rhythm not only work to challenge white supremacy, inequalities, and generations of colonization, but can also bring us together to collectively thrive and tell our stories. Since childhood, I have always felt connected to and inspired by the stories, style, and fuerza—the pachuquísmo— of the young Mexican American Pachucas and Pachucos of the 1940s, who not only rebelled against mainstream white U.S. culture but challenged the conservative traditions of their Mexican families. Rather than staying in the shadows of Los Angeles, Pachucas and Pachucos made sure they were seen by styling themselves with big hair and donning the large zoot suit inspired by the African American jazz scene. This grassroots cultural movement led by Black and brown youth grew more visible and popular over time, and mainstream society did not approve. For ten days in June of 1943, white servicemen roamed the streets of downtown Los Angeles, attacking Mexican American youth, cutting their pants, and shearing their hair. In what has come to be called the Zoot Suit Riots, servicemen and civilians—aided and abetted by the Los Angeles Police—began entering Mexican neighborhoods to seek out anyone who fit the bill. As I learned more about these violent events in books, plays, and films, I couldn’t help but wonder, “ . . . y las Pachucas?” Over the years, popular media has explored and discussed these events at length, but rarely do we find [End Page 51] any reference to the young Mexican American women and teens whose lives were also impacted during this time. Our performance, Pachuquísmo, is a full-length, percussive dance theater production that tells the story of the female youth, or Pachucas, during the Zoot Suit Riot era through dance, music, and video. Performed by my dance company La Mezcla, this all-women-of-color cast brings together tap dance, Mexican zapateado, Son Jarocho (from Veracruz, Mexico), and live jazz music to challenge the misogyny and systemic racism that continue to plague our community. The photographs on the following pages reimagine the Pachucas and their pachuquísmo past and present, who took up space, refused to be silenced by traditional gender roles, wore their cultura on their sleeve, and used their style, voices, and rhythm to challenge systemic racism and police brutality. This work, inspired by the poderosas who came before, brings the stories of these women to the forefront, where they should have been all along. [End Page 52] Click for larger view View full resolution Vanessa Sanchez in Pachuquísmo. Photograph by Beth LaBerge, KQED Arts. [End Page 53] Click for larger view View full resolution Dancers Sandy Vazquez, Emmeline Gonzalez-Beban, Vanessa Sanchez, and Kirsten Millan, and musicians Mónica María Fimbrez and Elena de Troya (above, left to right). Photographs by Beth LaBerge, KQED Arts. [End Page 54] Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 55] Click for larger view View full resolution Mónica María Fimbrez and Elena de Troya (above, left to right), and Emmeline Gonzalez-Beban, Sandy Vazquez, and Vanessa Sanchez (facing page, left to right). Photographs by Beth LaBerge, KQED Arts. [End Page 56] Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 57] Vanessa Sanchez vanessa sanchez is a Chicana dancer, choreographer, and educator who focuses on community arts and traditional dance forms to emphasize voices and experiences of Latina, Chicana, and Indigenous womxn and youth. Based in San Francisco, she is a 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow and the founding artistic director of La Mezcla, a rhythmic ensemble that explores history and collective resistance through tap dance, Mexican zapateado, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Her all-female tap dance and Son Jarocho production Pachuquísmo, the recipient of the Isadora Duncan Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Production, will tour nationally in 2022. She is currently...