East Harlem Folklore by Juan Ramirez

The Latino demographics in East Harlem are changing due to immigration trends. As the Latino population decreases, Mexican and Central American immigrants are finding sanctuary in El Barrio—a section of East Harlem—making it their home due to the low cost of living. This comes at a price.

According to the New York City Department of Health, East Harlem is one of the poorest neighborhoods of Manhattan, with 50% of its residents being Hispanic. East Harlem has one of the highest rankings for air pollution in the city. Teen pregnancy and school dropout rates are higher than the average numbers in Manhattan. Despite all the problems East Harlem faces, the new Latino residents are dedicated to making positive contributions to the neighborhood.

Sandra Mozo González is part of the wave of Mexican immigrants rooted in East Harlem. González came to the US in the early 2000s from Mexico City. She settled in New York City, where she had some extended family, and soon after joined the workforce. González works at a cosmetics shop by day, and she is a Mexican folk dancer by night. She has been dancing Mexican folk dance for over 20 years. In her native Mexico, González was part of a Grupo Artístico Mexicano Macuilxochitl, which was directed by Ramon Toxqui—whom she works with to this day.

In 2014, she joined the Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Nueva York. She noticed that after her performances, many women were interested in what she was doing. This encouraged her to form and become the choreographer for a Mexican folk dance group in East Harlem. The group is over a year old, and it hopes to promote Mexican culture in the neighborhood. She wanted young girls as well as adult women in her neighborhood to be exposed to this part of the Mexican Culture. González put her ear to the ground and started recruiting women of all ages to her new groups called Yaocihuatl—or warrior women, to honor the women in her group.

She now has 35 dancers in her group. “This is a group made up of fierce women. Women who have full-time jobs, students, single mothers, and stay-at-home mothers,” says González. You can see the diversity of the age of the dancers as González teaches the younger dancers lectures on accountability. “It is not your mom’s fault, it’s your fault,” González tells a young dancer for forgetting dancing shoes at home. “This group is not just dedicated to dance, but it is also a group for women to mutually help each other,” says González.

Yaocihuatl is run on donations and investments from the dancers themselves. “The dresses are not cheap,” González says. Each dress could cost up to $500. González has the colorful dresses imported from Mexico, as she wants to make the performance and appearance of the dancers as authentic as possible. Mexican folklore has many dances, and therefore, there are many dresses the group uses. Yaocihuatl practice dances from the Mexican states of Veracruz, Campeche, and Chiapas. That is three different outfits that the dancers have to buy. But the group is dedicated and passionate about what they do, so the cost of the outfits is part of the experience.

González has created a positive outlet for women in East Harlem’s El Barrio. This dance group is crucial to these women in many ways. It provides cultural education, it creates a community among the dancers, and it is a way to keep the youth from the streets. “The group is open to everyone. My goal is to promote Mexican culture, but why not also promote other cultures as well?” asks González. Yaocuhuatl is housed at the East Harlem Health Center in the heart of El Barrio. González is dedicated to pumping culture into the neighborhood.