RE-CONTEXTUALIZING TRADITIONS AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL IDENTITIES THROUGH MUSIC AND DANCE: A FANDANGO IN HUETAMO, MICHOACAN

From the 1920s onwards, the post-revolutionary Mexican state supported intellectuals and artists in their quest to discover, describe, and catalog expressions of Mexican popular culture. Music, dance, and poetry were among such expressions that suffered from a process of selection and de-contextualization as the state aimed to create prototypical regional traditions to represent Mexico and Mexican identity, thus narrowing the country's actual cultural diversity. Now, with a renewed interest in both the study and performance of these traditions, some are trying to bring them back to the social contexts in which they originated and were once performed, authenticating their popular nature in shared spaces. At popular fiestas-and in more formally organized events-Mexican sones have become the center of attention as practitioners, cultural promoters, and audiences reclaim the original context of their production and performance, embracing their music, dance, and poetry to reflect a way of understanding life. Thus, the fandango has become a statement of roots, identity, and ownership of one's culture in various parts of Mexico. The revitalization of the son experience entails a connection with the past, which brings a powerful element into the practice. My paper deals with a fandango in Huetamo, Michoacan, as an example of re-contextualizing traditions and the construction of social identities through music and dance.