The Mexican Hat Dance, which is also called Jarabe Tapatio, has been the national dance of Mexico since 1924. The actual music the accompanies the hat dance was composed in the 1800’s by a professor of music named Jesus Gonzales Rubio and is a medley known as a jarabe. Rubio ran his own private school in Guadalajara, Mexico for young musicians and inspired many. The dance itself was choreographed by Felipa Lopez celebrating the end of the Mexican Revolution.
The Mexican Hat Dance tells a story of courting and love and is usually performed by a couple. A man dressed in a traditional charro suit, which is a three-piece suit consisting of a jacket, vest, and pants with silver buttons down the entire seam, courts a woman wearing a traditional china problana dress, which was the female servant outfit in the 1800’s. The beginning of the dance shows the couple flirting while the man tries to impress her, stomping and tapping his feet. Just as the man suceeds in this, he is shooed away as being too proud. He returns however, triumphant, and throws his hat onto the ground. As the woman begins to pick up his hat he kicks his leg over her head. The couple marches together and the dance ends with a romantic sentiment.
The dance was popularized even further by Anna Pavlova, who performed a staged version wearing pointe shoes, also known as ballet or toe shoes. Her audiences threw their hats at her stage. Today, the Mexican Hat Dance is popular all over the world, especially in Mexico and Southwestern United States, where it’s often performed, even in fine Mexican restaurants. The Jarabe Tapatio has remained a national symbol of Mexico for over 100 years and will continue to delight and entertain for years to come.
To learn more about performing the hat dance yourself or to hear the music, try the following websites:
How to do the Mexican Hat Dance for Children.
Mexican Hat Dance Activity Page.
Resources
The Mexican Hat Dance. The Mexican Folkloric Dance Company of Chicago. 2007. 19 March 2009.
http://www.mexfoldanco.org/jarabe.shtml
