Aztec Dance - "The Eagle's Children"- www.docfilm.com

clip from "The Eagle's Children" (39 min)- http://www.docfilm.com - the only film on the ancient Danza Azteca or Concheros tradition and its spread among Chicanos in the US "One day we shall rise reunited, Gaining strength from the New Sun To fulfill our destiny." - Cuauhtemoc, last Aztec ruler "La Danza de la Conquista del Gran Tenochtitlan", also known as "Los Concheros", "Danza Azteca", & "Danza Chichimeca", traces its origins to pre-Columbian Nahua ("Aztec") roots. Its adherents are organized into dance groups, each led by a "Capitan de Danza", who obeys one of the "Generales" who head distinct lineages and claim to pass traditional lore down from before the Spanish invasion of Mexico. The "Danzantes" must take part in a complex series of "obligaciones" throughout the year. At the great annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Chalma, thousands of "Danzantes" from Mexico and the US gather for four days of ritual and dance. Since the 1960's, Mexican dance teachers like Florencio Yescas and Andres Segura have brought the "Danza" to the US. The Eagle's Children follows Mexican-American "Danzantes" to Chalma, Central Texas, and San Diego, as they rediscover their indigenous heritage. "The Eagle's Children is a valuable document of the Conchero tradition and its journey to Aztlan; a glimpse into the ancient soul of Mesoamerica and a tribute to the power of ritual dance." Enrique LaMadrid Chicano/Hispano/Mexicano Studies University of New Mexico "The Eagle's Children is a tremendously sensitive film addressing very important issues about dance in general. The film highlights most of the issues about the inner meaning of dance to self and community, from the symbolic and social, to the personal and experiential." Allegra Fuller Snyder Department of Dance University of California at Los Angeles Ethnoscope Film & Video