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Tío Sergio Carlos Mayorga, who has been dancing folkloric for 42 years, at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
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Tío Sergio Carlos Mayorga, who has been dancing folkloric for 42 years, at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
Estefania Miter / NPR
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On a cloudy afternoon in Mexico City, sitting on a bench in the Condesa neighborhood, my uncle Sergio Carlos remembers his beginnings in dance. My uncle started in 1980 with a group called Semblanzas de México.
My whole family lives and is originally from Mexico: my mother, Patricia Miter, was born in the state of Durango but grew up in Mexico City, a city that never rests, along with her 11 siblings. A tradition has been created between all the brothers, dance. My uncles and my mother joined Mexican folk dance groups in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Estefanía Miter and her uncle Sergio share memories of family reunions and Sergio’s beginnings to dance.
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The last to join the club, inspired by my mother’s joy and pride in dancing, was my uncle Sergio. My uncle Sergio is my mother’s cousin, she has always seen him as another brother. We are all family hereas my mother would say, she is the 13th member of the family.
Currently, my uncle Sergio is part of the Alma Mexicana traditional dance and dance company, which he joined in 1996. The group held a performance at the Gudelio Morales Railroad Theater earlier this summer to raise money for send group members to Turkey on a tour. My uncle Sergio is part of the group that intends to go to Turkey.
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Members of the Alma Mexicana Traditional Dance and Dance Company perform a regional dance from Jalisco, Mexico, at Mexico City’s Gudelio Morales Railroad Theater in July.
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Members of the Alma Mexicana Traditional Dances and Dances group perform a regional dance from Sinaloa, Mexico, at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
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Members of the Alma Mexicana Traditional Dances and Dances group perform a regional dance from Sinaloa, Mexico, at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
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Members of the Alma Mexicana Traditional Dances and Dances group perform a regional dance from Guerrero, Mexico, at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
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Tío Sergio dances at the Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales Theater in Mexico City in July.
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My uncle Sergio is 63 and when his age is part of the conversation, he takes out his INAPAM (Instituto Nacional de las Personas Adultas Mayores) card, Mexico’s discount card for adults over 60, as a way to denote your pride being an older adult.
For the past 42 years, my uncle has perfected his alternating dance technique.
In the beginning, as my family says, he was not inclined to dance. At first they didn’t choose him to dance on stage.
But his discipline has paid off over time.
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Tío Sergio performs a regional dance from the Mexican state of Jalisco in 2022 (left) and 1982 (right).
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Tío Sergio performs a regional dance from the Mexican state of Veracruz in 1982 (left) and 2022 (right).
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Uncle Sergio (left) performs an Aztec dance in 1990.
Courtesy of Sergio Carlos
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Courtesy of Sergio Carlos
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When I started dancing, my mom told me my uncle’s story of how he never missed a workout, and even if it was just behind the scenes or in the background, he never missed rehearsals.
My uncle’s desire to hone his skills and, as he puts it, to “keep fit” motivated him to keep dancing, even at this stage of his life.
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Tío Sergio performs a Veracruz regional dance with his group members at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
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Tío Sergio performs a Michoacán regional dance with his group members at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
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Tío Sergio performs a Veracruz regional dance with his group members at the Teatro Ferrocarrilero Gudelio Morales in Mexico City in July.
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My mother had a great influence on Uncle Sergio, since she was the only woman among all her brothers to dance. Between my mother and my uncles they created two folk dance groups, one in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, located in the state of Mexico – on the outskirts of Mexico City – and another in the city of Durango, in the state of Durango. My mother played several roles: director, dancer and teacher. She has always shared student stories that my mother inspired to dance and pursue a professional dance career to this day.
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They left: Estefanía’s mother, Patricia Miter, and her uncle Sergio dance the polkas of Nuevo León in 1982. On the right: Patricia performs a regional dance from the state of Veracruz in 1979.
Courtesy of Patricia Miter
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Courtesy of Patricia Miter
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On: Estefanía’s mother, Patricia Miter (left), performed at the Itō stop in Japan on a tour of Japan with the group Semblanzas de México in 1981. Down: Patrizia in 2021.
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My mother (center) and her twin brother, my uncle Manuel (left) in Itō, Japan, 1980. My uncle Sergio, Manuel and my mother are very close to this day.
Courtesy of Patricia Miter
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Courtesy of Patricia Miter
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My mother (center) and her twin brother, my uncle Manuel (left) in Itō, Japan, 1980. My uncle Sergio, Manuel and my mother are very close to this day.
Courtesy of Patricia Miter
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My mom left her career to focus on growing my brother and me. Sometimes I ask him if he misses him, and he looks at me and says, “I like more to see you fulfilled.”
I found a passion of mine, which is learning different dance rhythms, but discipline, love for dance and art have been instilled in me thanks to my family.
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They left: Estefanía in her first show, performing in cancán in Juárez, Mexico, in 2004. right: Estefania at a Tahitian dance competition in Mexico City in 2019.
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Dance is a common denominator in my family.
A tradition that I hope to continue building.
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