Junior Robinson is a member of Grupo Xochiti, a traditional Azteca/Mexica Danza dance group. Robinson's NATIVE LENS film features another Azteca dance group, Grupo Tlaloc Danza Azteca based out of Denver, Colorado.
Chicano/Mexicano families and students of all ages participate in Grupo Tlaloc to preserve and nourish the ancient knowledge of their ancestors.
They have pledged to uphold and walk a spiritual way of life and have committed themselves to help increase the public’s understanding of the Aztec culture.
Every year, Grupo Tlaloc hosts a Xupantla ceremony in Denver during summer solstice.
“Throughout the years with our elders coming in from Mexico, and all of us that travel back and forth to ceremonias, we learn more and more, so the ceremonies have become more complete,” Lorenzo Ramirez said.
Ramirez, one of the group’s elders, shares in the film, “This is one way of reconnecting, and also reconnecting with our brothers and sisters from Mexico that are here, and live across a border that we didn’t create.”
According to Grupo Tlaloc's website, Tlaloc means "He who fertilizes the Earth. Liquor of the Earth. He is the rain, which makes things grow."
Related:
- Learn more in an article recently published by Rocky Mountain PBS that features Grupo Tlaloc dancing in San Luis, Colorado.
- For Danza Azteca Groups, Dancing is Prayer and Protest in Motion - KCET, Southern California public media
