Dancers honor the Virgin Mary with indigenous traditions

Intermountain Catholic

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The Matachines perform a traditional dance. IC file photo

BEAVER — In the small congregation of Our Lady of the Light Catholic Mission a group of Catholic men, women and children share their indigenous traditions along with their faith.

The ‘Matachines’ group was born two years ago as a dream that a Catholic group of migrants from Chihuahua Mexico had.

"We wanted to dance for the Virgin. This has been our tradition and beliefs since we were little in Chihuahua and now that we are here in Utah we wanted to continue them," said Jesús Núñez, parishioner of the Mission and participant in the group.

For Núñez keeping his family traditions alive in another country is very important because he wants people to see where they come from and how they celebrate their Catholic faith.

"We can’t forget who we are no matter where we are," said Núñez.

In Beaver, the Matachines dance every Dec. 12 to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. They also dance for Holy Week celebrations.

"At the beginning it was a little hard for us to start dancing, but little by little we have better organization and more resources," said Núñez.

Approximately 15 people participate in the group. The dancers design their own costumes. The resources for the music and for the material for the costumes are sent from Mexico.

"With a lot of effort and with the support of our family and friends we are growing," said Núñez.

The music of the Matachines was born in the Tarahumara region of Mexico as part of the Tarahumaran culture. With it, feelings such as joy and sadness, and beliefs are expressed. "With it we communicate with God and ask him for the well-being of our brothers and sisters," said Núñez.

The music and the dance symbolize the unity among different indigenous cultures and it also manifests different moments of life.

"We want to be able to unify our traditions with other migrants and with other cultures," said Núñez.

Otoniel Cervantes, who is a parishioner of the mission as well as a Matachines dancer, said that he enjoys very much to celebrate with the music and dances for the Virgin.

"Our tradition is very beautiful," said Cervantes. "When we were little in our home town we used to dance and celebrate so when we arrived here we wanted to keep our traditions alive."

Cervantes is very happy and hopeful that the new generations will embraced this tradition.

"We want to share and teach our new generations and all the people how the Matachines celebrate Our Lady," said Cervantes.

The Matachines perform in the mission in Beaver but they have also traveled to Cedar City at the invitation of Father Fidel Barrera, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Salt Lake City, who previously was the parochial vicar of Christ the King Parish in Cedar City. Fr. Barrera used to oversee the mission.

Cervantes and Núñez now shared the dream of presenting the Matachines in Salt Lake City for religious celebrations, they said.