Essays

Glossary

Abuela: Grandmother. Dance character, usually a male dressed as an old woman, who accompanies the Abuelo and provides comic relief. Sometimes called “Perejundia” in various locations.
Abuelo: Grandfather. Dance character who provides order and sometimes comedy in Matachines groups.
Capitanes: Captains. The two danzantes who stand at the head of the files during the Matachines dance.
Corona: Crown. The more elaborate headdress worn by the Monarca to distinguish him from the danzantes.
Cupil: Decorated headdress worn by the danzantes, often said to resemble a bishop’s miter or an Aztec emperor’s crown. Danzante: Dancer. Sometimes called soldiers. One of the line dancers in the Matachines dance.
Filas: Files. The two parallel lines of Matachines danzantes.
Guaje: A hollow gourd filled with seeds or stones fastened to a stick that is carried in the left hand of the danzantes and used as a percussive musical instrument to mark time during the dance. It is similar to a maraca.
Malinche: The name of the young female (sometimes cross-dressed boy) character in the Matachines dance. Thought to be a Hispanization of the Nahua name Malinal or Malinali given to a woman who was born on the twelfth day of the month in the Aztec calendar. Adding the respectful Nahuatl suffix “tzin” the name results in Malintzín (pronounced in Spanish as Malinche) which was also the given Nahua name of Cortes’ companion and translator Dońa Marina.
Monarca: Monarch. The leader of the Matachines danzantes who is commonly thought to represent Montezuma. Palma: Palm leaf. A highly decorated flat fan-like wand with three to seven points carried by the danzantes in their right hands and waved in time to the music during the dance.
Perejundia: (See Abuela)
Toro: Literally, “bull.” A mischievous character in the Matachines dance dressed as a bull. He is thought by some to represent evil.