Hispanic Heritage Month Performance

by Apoorva Jha-Bansal & Laurel Tippett

During Hispanic Heritage month, Harbor Day hosted a special group of performers at our assembly on October 6 called Danza Azteca Xochipilli. Kindergarten was the other special guest, as they joined the rest of the school for their first-ever Harbor Day assembly! Both groups were welcomed to the assembly with loud cheers and claps!

To give some reference, Danza Azteca is a modern folk dance tradition of Central Mexico based on the cultural legacy of the Chichimec tradition warrior tribes that lived north of the Aztec Empire during the Spanish invasion. The performers of Danza Azteca Xochipilli, are a combined dance and instrumental talent of a single family who has preserved and performed the Aztec culture and history through stories, music, and dance for over twenty years.

The elaborately dressed performers had feathered headgear called penachos. They jumpstarted the assembly with invigorating drum beats and slowly added their dance and music rituals, carefully explaining the relevance of each. 

The students, whether kindergarteners or eighth graders, were all mesmerized by the infectious beats. The assembly concluded with a few students from each grade joining the performers for a dance around the Moiso Family Activities Center, being cheered on wholeheartedly by their friends!