The Mysterious Matachine

For nearly three hundred years, the Matachine dancers of New Mexico have performed their ritual dances in honor of the various saints' feast days. No one knows for certain how or where the dances started or what they mean, but there are several theories. In New Mexico, both Hispanics and Pueblo Indians dance the Matachine. A few other tribes - the Yaqui in Arizona and the Tarahumara in Mexico - perform the dance, but no Hispanic groups outside of New Mexico do the Matachine. Learn more about the dynamic Matachine dance in this article, made available by The World & I Online.