Mariano Lemus, Bringing Aztec Dancing to Reno
Owen Christopher features an empowering cultural dance director in northern Nevada.
Mariano Lemus, 39, from Moreli, Michoacán, México moved to Reno in 1998 and has no plans on leaving now that he’s established himself as a community and cultural leader.
Lemus still recalls the first time he saw the city after taking a bus ride into the Biggest Little City. “I remember being on the bus driving into Reno, I remember seeing the lights and sounds of the city and feeling like I’d never seen anything like it,” he remembers.
Lemus trained as a traditional Ballet Folklorico dancer in his hometown and wanted to carry these teachings with him. He would quickly find that Reno did not yet have an outlet for his artistic desires.
“When I arrive here, when I come here, I don’t find any place where I can show acting or dance,” he said.
Lemus was not deterred. He learned a new language and worked dozens of jobs (usually more than one at a time) to achieve his dream of performing. One of the key factors in his success was the growing community of people with similar backgrounds and desires as him.
“Little by little, we find people who feel the same way,” he said. “We created a group and from there we created a fantastic place.”
Their community is a place where Latino/Latinx artists can come together and perform the traditional dances and music from their heritage. To maintain this group they all have to pitch in and work hard, including Lemus.
“I’m working two jobs eight hours each shift,” he said. “I’m so tired by the end but I’m so happy to be doing this even if I feel so tired.”
Lemus has poured countless hours into this group as their director. He has hope that all of this effort will inspire his younger students.
A main goal of the group is to educate and promote the history and art of his people. He wants to share the pride he has for his heritage and the love he has for these traditional dances.
“We are proudly representing our roots, the most important thing we want to teach on Ballet Folklorico is the love and passion for our roots and culture, so we don’t forget where we came from,” he said.
This message is especially important for him to get across to the younger generation, who might not have as strong of a connection to their parents or grandparents’ home country after growing up in the United States.
“It’s a little sad seeing young kids lose their identity,” he said. “They feel like they don’t belong here or there, it’s hard to understand that we are similar but we as parents have to teach them their love for their culture.”
