WELCOME TO THE FESTIVAL OF THE CONCHEROS!
The festival of Our Lord of the Conquest is celebrated the first Friday of March each year in San Miguel de Allende. Groups of Conchero dancers come from many surrounding regions in honor of Jesus Cristo (Jesus Christ) for this special day. They come to the La Parroquia de San Miguel, the parish church on the main plaza, early in the morning to recite 33 prayers which represents every year of Jesus’ life on earth.
They Concheros arrive shortly after dawn and after the church service they dance on the plaza until sunset. The Concheros dance in honor of “Our Lord of the Conquest,” one of the most revered statues in La Parroquia church. Made of cornstalks and orchid bulbs this statue represents the acceptance of Christ by Mexico’s indigenous people.
The festival of the "Lord of the Conquest" is a whirlwind of dancing, costumes, and drums which is simply stunning.
The grand jefe and his wife in reverence Jesus and their Aztec heritage.
The dance in honor of El Senor de la Conquista (The Lord of the Conquest) is definitely one of the most spectacular and impressive festivals of the year in San Miguel de Allende. Mark your calendars for the first Friday of each March and hopefully you can witness the excitement in person.
The fantastic feathered headdresses and embroidered tunics are part of the Conchero tradition. The Concheros dance for almost eight hours on the first Friday of each March in San Miguel de Allende.
The dance of the Concheros, also known as the dance of Chichimecas, Aztecas and Mexicas, is an important traditional dance and ceremony which has been performed in Mexico since early in the colonial period.
The dance has strong visual markers of its pre-Hispanic roots with feathered costumes, indigenous dance steps, and indigenous instruments such as drums. The dance in its current form was the adaptation of the old “mitote” dance to Catholicism as a means of preserving some aspects of indigenous rite and tradition. It remained a purely religious ceremony until the mid-twentieth century when political and social changes in Mexico also gave it cultural significance as a folk dance.
Pounding drums, strumming armadillo guitars, and a blur of twirling feathers!
The drummers and their beat are a vital part of this non-stop spectacle.
The Conchero dancers are dressed in elaborate plumed headdresses and tunics in bright colors and painted fabrics. Each costume is unique and absolutely stunning.
The name “Concheros” comes from the Spanish word conchas which means shell. The indigenous people made guitars, mandolins, and lutes in the Spanish style from the shells of armadillos as the Spaniards prohibited the indigenous people from using wood to fashion their instruments (see postscript at end of posting). And because of this, they became known as the Concheros (the shell people).
Armadillo shell guitar-type instruments are part of the heritage and the namesake of the Concheros (conchas translates to shells in English).
A future Conchero dancer watching her parents at the Los Concheros festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Check out the detail of the elaborate trajes (costumes) which are fantastic.
Their ritualistic dancing is tireless and moves to the steady beat of large and loud drums and flute-like instruments. Although these ritualistic dances sprung up after the Spanish conquest, they incorporate many pre-Hispanic religious symbols. The audience cannot help but be transfixed and almost hypnotized by the whirling colors and pounding drums.
Feathers and instruments take a much needed break from the exhausting festivities.
Some lovely modern day "Aztecas" enjoying the festival in San Miguel.
A Conchero plays a string instrument made from an armadillo shell which dates back to the early Spanish colonial period.
Postscript: When the Spaniards brought their guitars, mandolins, and some wind instruments to Mexico the indigenous people became so proficient at replicating them that the guitar and other musical instrument guilds back in the home country of Spain rose up in protest. They were losing business to the Mexican- made instruments.
Consequently the Spanish rulers in the New World prohibited the locals from cutting down trees to make said instruments. They thought this would be the end of the issue. But no! The indigenous figured out a way to get around the ban by using armadillo shells instead of wood. And the sound was just as sweet as the wood carved originals. Pretty creative and brilliant, don't you think?
I remember hearing many years ago that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I am a believer of those inspiring words so I am including the link to my WEB ALBUM which has additional photos for this posting.
LINK TO LOS CONCHEROS PHOTO ALBUM
As always I look forward to hearing from my blog followers with their questions, comments, and suggestions. Until next time, wishing you safe travels wherever the road may take you, Laura
Laura, you captured it so well! I personally thank you for this. Just yesterday late afternoon as my husband and I were navigating the rather congested traffic, I spied the first of the headdresses from a distant. And then I thought to myself, "Where is my camera?" And then it just got better and better. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Victoria! Having spent the last five winters in San Miguel I am missing the beauty of your town and its special fiestas mucho. My biggest regret is never having met you in person, but I love following your amazing blog. We are back on the Pacific coast of Jalisco so when yoiu need a beach fix please let me know!
Deletecaution: Laura's blog will make you want to pack your bags pronto! Beautiful imagery, captivating prose -- a mini vacation in each post!
ReplyDeleteFrom one blogger to another, your words are very much appreciated. Thank you Audrey!
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