- Well, to me it's part of myself.
If I see some group dancing, it just
gets my whole body to go and see.
(Mexican dance music)
When the music used to come, the band used to play
in my hometown like the fiesta,
it was a ticklish in my feet.
It was just something, como hormiguero in my feet.
In 1973 my father moved us to the United States.
(train horn blows)
I found out that it was more people from different countries
hungry to learn for something that you don't have.
I started taking ballet folklorico for eight years of team.
After I graduated from the College of Architecture,
I used to have a very good job and had the money
to buy all the fabrics.
In architecture we use a lot of lines, a lot of colors.
We use math, and everything has to be proportioned.
I thought I was gonna run out of yellow threads
and no, I still have one more, one more to go.
I come to different stores for shopping for fabric
three, four times a week.
- No you actually have to get in that line down there.
Okay, you know this is $1.49.
Are you gonna need anything else?
- Ah, this is good quality.
I see materials and it immediately pops in my mind
I can do this, what can we do with this?
Don't you think this is gonna be good for
the lining for the Marilyn costume?
Actually my husband is the best one,
he helps me out a lot in doing the shopping.
- [Maribel] So a fabric is not just a piece of cloth.
- Do you think it's gonna look good?
- Now a fabric has a certain shine, a certain feel,
a certain element that conveys in one particular moment
an emotion and in another moment another emotion.
(Carmen speaks Spanish)
People like Carmen become the holders of
this kind of detailed knowledge.
- No, it's too much, it has to be just organza.
Thank you, okay, bye bye.
- When we first encountered Carmen, we were
pretty taken back by what a treasure she was
here in our midst, in Tucson.
- Well this carport, it was empty 25 years ago.
Then I started collecting material.
- She embodies all of the aspects that are important
when we think of the masters of the traditional art.
She adds so many dimensions of texture and depth
to what we thought we knew about the
folklorico dance movement.
- I'm crazy about folklorico because it's always moving,
always color, and I'm the type of person that
I can never stay still.
(shoes tap)
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, not yet.
That's not your turn, that's another costume,
that's a different costume, okay?
In 1974 I started teaching folklorico to
children from one year old and up.
Good, much better.
Tie your shoes, tie your shoes.
In your place.
Okay, come on over here.
- [Lyna] She's strict but in a good way.
- [Carmen] Stay there.
One, then two, turn in your place.
- It makes everybody pay attention more.
- Up, bend your knees, bend your knees.
I just don't want sloppy.
If they have to jump, pick up their knees,
they have to do it.
Skip, skip, skip, skip.
Don't leave your knees stiff, okay?
It makes me very tired, I sweat a lot because
I have been running all the time,
showing the steps, bending down.
Looking up, eh eh, face, face.
- I love to just dance.
Just the way that you get to move.
When you sometimes jump, you feel like you can fly.
Well I've known her since I have danced here,
so for a really long time.
- Lyna is our only daughter and we were so excited to
introduce her to the world.
Since my parents are from Mexico, I wanted her to
be able to learn as much as she can from Carmen
so that she can carry this forward.
- Carmen has been at this for a long time.
And if you think about the timeline of her body of work,
she really belongs to that era when the
folklorico movement begins to spread in the United States.
- Chicano! - Power!
- [Reporter] That the Chicano movement in Los Angeles.
- In the 1960s and early 70s, Mexican-Americans
in the United States, as part of their response to
the Civil Rights Movement and their desire for
participation, social justice, equity,
began to grab onto the arts that came from Mexico.
And folklorico became, in a very interesting way,
part of this movement.
But it also had this very strong component of showmanship.
That made it particularly susceptible to be
eventually some sort of a stereotypical representation of
what a Mexican fiesta would be like,
when in fact it was always connected to the struggle of
communities to achieve social justice.
- [Man] Welcome to quinoa, I hope you enjoy the
folklorico dancers and please look in the other buildings,
we have great displays today.
- [Carmen] Do they gonna change right away to the other one?
- [Maribel] The interest has always been in navigating
two different terrains.
On the one hand, the educational grass root aspect of
bringing people together.
At the same time, there's this aspect of the
artistry within it.
- [Carmen] Everybody's been getting here on time. (laughs)
- And Carmen is right on the spot of
that kind of craftsmanship that makes folklorico
more than just a fun dance on stage.
- She's made so many dresses.
It's great that she can make them, but it's just like
amazing how she can make them.
- She is knowledgeable about the tradition,
where it comes from, the roots, the authentic versions of
this type of form in its original context.
But she's also an artist who adds a touch of flare.
- This one is called guerrero.
It's basically a dress but there's also a skirt underneath.
- Go, don't get too close, go, go, go.
I like the folklorico all the time to be fresh.
That's why I don't dance, I give the opportunity
to the young people, so they look much nicer.
For my group there is always something different
because I enjoy doing something new all the time.
- People get recognition in galleries, in big
performances and shows, very few of the people
behind the scenes who are the holders of knowledge
and who are so devoted to the specific
practices of keeping something alive.
(sewing machine hums)
- I'm always sewing and sewing.
It's like breathing to me.
Before we were able to eat there, but not any more.
Actually, I've been in the hospital many, many, many times.
A lot of times.
And a lot of times it just have been told
it's a matter of death or life.
And I say no in my mind, my kids are still young,
they're not prepared I keep thinking,
and I say, "Ah, I have a lot of materials and
"I keep buying more materials like if I'm never gonna die."
I'm very positive that I'm gonna live to a hundred years.
I hope, because I have a lot to do.