Next weekend, Emma Prusch Park in East San Jose turns into a roaring, three-day Mexica New Year ceremony as hundreds of dancers in feathered headdresses, beaded neckpieces and seed-pod rattles take over the grounds. The celebration runs on nonstop drumming, conch-shell calls and thick clouds of copal incense while danzantes move in concentric circles to mark the turning of the year.
What to expect
Hand-carved wooden drums, shell trumpets and trails of copal smoke set the rhythm for hours of ritual dancing, with participants describing the choreography as a spiritual practice that puts down prayers with the feet. The regalia is painstakingly assembled with real feathers, beaded pendants and rattles tied at the ankles, and the dances often stretch for…..