Learn about "Zapatap" Chicana Dance Crew Blends Tap and Mexican Footwork | KQED Arts

Friends,



Check out this "New percussive Chicana aesthetic," as expressed by Vanessa Sanchez from San Francisco City's mission district that draws on Indigenous, African American, and Veracruz Mexico, combining tap dance and son jarocho zapateado (traditional footwork from Veracruz, Mexico,)  as described here:

San Francisco’s La Mezcla dance company, founded and led by Vanessa Sanchez, uses dance and song to tell stories of Chicana history, culture and resistance. Blending tap dance and son jarocho zapateado (traditional footwork from Veracruz, Mexico,) Sanchez describes this unique dance style as “zapatap.” Watch these dancers perform dynamic choreography in front of iconic Mission District murals and landmarks, then bring us back to the 1940s West Coast Zoot Suit era (popularized by Bay Area playwright Luis Valdez) when young Mexican-American men and women, "pachucos" and “pachucas,” proudly repped their identity, while defying cultural and style taboos. Rocking big hair and flashy zoot suits, the women of La Mezcla reclaim this early California history.

I like how Vanessa Sanchez situates this in African American and California history, as well.  The Fandango where everybody plays instruments and everybody dances, is the coolest, funest part!


Enjoy!



-Angela Valenzuela