Danza Aztecac en Filadelfia - Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac- Finalistas “Transito MX 02”: Festival Internacional de Artes Electronicas
Finalist in “Transito MX 02”: Festival Internacional de Artes Electronicas Video: 10/2007
The Transitio MX 02 festival titled Nomadic Borders has the initiative of creating action and reflection over the concept of community. In this sense an allusion is made to the metaphor of the border as a non-place, a symbolic site that draws a territorial line and opens a new possible future for convergence to occur. Danza Azteca en Filadelfia was the film use for this festival. www.transitiomx.net/concurso/finalistas
This video is available for purchase as part of a Community Visions compilation DVD.
Meaning “School of Blood Moving in the Heart” in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac is a dance and cultural troupe based in the heart of South Philadelphia. A visually captivating portrait of the group told through their own voices, Aztec Dance in Philadelphia raises questions about indigenous history and the retention of cultural heritage in the context of modern immigration. “We consider it a school because we are learning about the culture we have lost,” says one of the group’s members. The dancers of Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac bring their audiences a pre-Columbian heritage with roots in central Mexico. Kept alive by modern keepers of the culture like those in this trilingual Spanish/English/Nahuatl documentary, Aztec dance has followed the paths of contemporary Mexican immigrants into the United States. That migration has brought Aztec culture here, to Philadelphia. Aztec Dance in Philadelphia is an engaging resource for educators teaching modern immigration and a colorful testament to the resilience of indigenous cultures.
http://www.scribe.org/catalogue/aztecdancephiladelphia