Colorful costumes adorn Folklórico performances at Centro La Fe

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By Emma Leslie

Vibrant colored skirts glide through the room. Dance music pumps from all corners of the studio. The young dancers of Centro Salud Familiar La Fe chuckle as they buckle their shoes and assemble props in preparation for the cue to walk on stage. El Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe has become the solution for many parents struggling to find programs nearby for their kids to participate in. Girls facing the lack of recreational activities in Segundo Barrio have the opportunity to learn dance at Centro La Fe, through the Ballet Folklórico Toltec La Fe program.

Tiguas determined not to lose their culture

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Once a year during the outdoor Dia de San Antonio fest on June 13, at the Tigua tribe’s Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, dozens of women and men don colorful costumes, a red sash around their waist, brown moccasins and headbands to celebrate their culture through authentic Native American dance and food. From sunup to sundown, the dancers perform ritual dances outside the Tigua Cultural Center, 305 Yaya Lane. Hundreds of people, both Indian and non-Indian, watch the dancers and taste traditional food like meatballs, chile colorado, sopa de pan or bread soup, and albondigas, meatballs. The traditional celebration is one of several indigenous holidays during the year that the 8,000-plus-member tribe organizes to teach their children Tigua history and culture and keep the old traditions alive. In addition to the most sacred feast of Dia de San Antonio, the tribe also opens up the reservation to the public for: Dia de San Juan, June 24; Dia de San Pedro y Pablo, June 29; Dia de Santa Kateri Tekakwitha, July 14; Dia de Santiago, July 25; Dia De Santa Ana, July 26; and Pueblo Reunion Day, October 12.

The Valley’s Confused Souls — A teen confronts cultural borderlines

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EDINBURG, Tex. — Has a stranger ever come up to you and asked you if you were a freak? As you can probably guess, it’s happened to me. As a naïve 8th grader, I didn’t know what to make of a question like that. Two months earlier I had relocated from Topeka, Kansas to Hidalgo, Texas; a really big change at a difficult time in a child’s life.

Life Lessons From my Mexican Mom

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EDINBURG, Tex. — My mom is very close minded. I don’t know where she got it from but I’m more than sure she passed it on to me. I can’t imagine same-sex marriages are happening. I know that’s something that might sound arrogant to some but to me, it’s who I am.