I grew up in a very small family with literally no relatives around me, I often yearned uncles, aunts and cousins with whom get together on the weekends. All that changed when I joined Xyachimal. Since then, I have a whole new set of brothers and sisters (Master’s group), little cousins (Teen’s group) and nieces and nephews (Children’s group), because every new member not only joins the group but is ‘adopted’ by our extended family.
As in all families, its members have different opinions and even heated arguments on certain matters, but at the end of the day we love each other and accept us as we are. In the group we understand that all members are part of it because of our passion for folklorico, and because of our Mexican background we can all relate in many different levels.
Age gaps are not important and during a performance kids and adults come together to present a quality show and one will often see everyone trying to help each other get changed for the next musical number.
Although it takes the dedication of endless hours to the creation of a show, we combined them with birthday parties, picnics, road trips, holiday’s celebrations, and simple get-togethers to remind ourselves that without the relationships that we have forged we could have not gotten to where we are today. Our smiles on stage would be faked and members wouldn’t stay too long. Instead there are members that have been with Xyachimal since its humble beginnings (8+ years) and continue to contribute their skills and love for folklorico to the great family that we are now.
I can proudly say that I’m blessed to have found the family I lacked as a child, and I’m glad that we can be a family for those members who left theirs when they came to the United States.
Xyachimal’s arms are always open to welcome new family members and be part of this amazing folklorico experience.
