Aztec "warrior style" dancing, drumming part of Culture Fest outreach

The Arts and Education Council's annual Culture Fest takes place on Sunday afternoon at the First Tennessee Pavilion but the event's outreach programs in several area schools have already begun.

Pueblo Indian performing artist John Jaramillo will spend 4 weeks in Hamilton County teaching Aztec dances and drums of Mexico during five-day residencies at four schools through Oct. 14.

Jaramillo, a working performance artist for 26 years, will also be performing for the public at Culture Fest in full Aztec warrior style dance regalia. Students from the residencies have been invited to perform with Jaramillo on Sunday.

During the residency taking place at East Ridge Elementary, Calvin Donaldson Elementary, Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts (CSLA) and East Lake Elementary, the program begins with a class offering an introduction to the dances of Mexico.

"They will see traditional dances, costumes and musical instruments while hearing a little history on many native cultures of the Americas and where they fit geographically," Jaramillo said.

On the second day the participating students will work in small groups to build an Aztec-style drum out of rolled corrugated cardboard. Once the drums are constructed, they will then be painted with traditional Aztec symbols that Jaramillo presents and discusses during the class.

"From there we learn some drumming and different rhythms. Then they learn to put the dances they learned to the rhythms they learn," Jaramillo said.

There is also a "call and response" exercise during the final day of the workshop where the students respond to the rhythms they hear Jaramillo play.

"It is all about them paying attention, listening musically, trying to recreate it and also retain it at the same time," he said.

The organizers of Culture Fest, now in its 12th year, brought in Jaramillo in 2010 and 2011 to expose the students to Aztec and Meso-American history and culture through visual arts and music workshops.

"Culture Fest is an integral part of the AEC mission to enrich the Chattanooga community through innovative arts experiences," AEC director Susan Robinson said in a press release.

"Over 75 languages are spoken in Hamilton County, but the arts are a universal language that we can all understand and a natural way to bridge differences and find common ground," Robinson said.

Jaramillo said he hopes the teachers he works with will continue the lessons in future classes.

"It's about keeping arts in the schools. I want to teach a little bit of Native American cultural awareness that supports and adds what the students are already learning. But I also like to bring in something they don't usually get," he said. 

Aztec Warrior Style Dances to be performed at Culture Fest 2011

While Jaramillo teaches the students a traditional "friendship dance" during his elementary school residencies, his public performance at Culture Fest will include several Aztec "warrior style" dances.

In full warrior regalia, Jaramillo will open his dance program on Sunday with a dance that is a blessing in the "four directions."

The opening blessing is followed by a greeting he will deliver in Nahuatl, the official Aztec language.

A brief history of the Aztec people, costumes and traditional musical instruments will be presented in English while using Spanish and Nahuatl terms.

After several warrior style dances are performed as solos by Jaramillo, the audience will be invited to join him on stage and help conclude the performance with a traditional two-step dance from the North American Plains Indians.

Jaramillo's website said his goals with the residency programs, like one one he is doing in Hamilton County this month, is to learn about the dance, music, culture and language of the Aztec people, and to understand the interwoven cultural connections between Mexican, Native American and Spanish cultures.

You can catch his performance at Culture Fest on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. The full schedule can be found here.