FULLERTON : They Dance Their Way to Ethnic Pride

With a large skirt to twirl and two-inch high-heeled shoes to stomp, Edith Torres has learned to appreciate her Mexican heritage.

The 8-year-old girl proudly grins as 15 other girls and two boys practice fast-moving stomp-toe-heel action at Nicolas Junior High School twice a week.

The dancers make up Maria De La Luz (Lucy) Millan-Ruiz’s troupe, Xochitlpitzahuatl.

Millan-Ruiz formed the dance group last year to give children from low-income families throughout the city a chance to learn about Mexican traditions.

She said the lessons she teaches are important in instilling self-worth and confidence.

The 42-year-old mother, who emigrated from Mexico in 1989, wants Latino children to learn the age-old folkloric dances from her country, know what states they come from and what they signify.

On a recent afternoon, Millan-Ruiz explained to her pupils that the dance they were about to learn, Los Patitos, originated in the Pinotepa region of the state of Oaxaca where a large lake is home to thousands of ducks.

Each dance, she said, has history and meaning behind it.

Her group performs for free at cultural events, museums, schools and churches. But it’s not easy.

Hours of sacrifice accompany each performance, said Millan-Ruiz, who worked as a professional dancer and teacher in Mexico.

“I never thought I’d be doing this here because of the language barrier,” Millan-Ruiz said in Spanish while her pupils practiced. “But, I felt the necessity to teach so that the love of being Mexican will be born in these kids. They should be proud of who they are so they won’t let themselves be offended or oppressed because all people have the same value as humans.”

Millan-Ruiz makes hundreds of tamales to sell on weekends, raising money to buy costumes for her pupils, who cannot afford the expensive garments.

Sometimes people donate material and Millan-Ruiz, who taught free Spanish classes at the Valencia Community Center in 1992, sews the dresses herself.

Her volunteer work has become a full-time, unpaid labor of love, she said.

Her husband, Roberto Ruiz, also has jumped into the act. He teaches free dance classes to adults one night a week.

Besides dance performances, Millan-Ruiz organizes cultural shows and events including the annual Las Posadas procession in downtown Fullerton in December and the Dia de Los Muertos exhibition at the Fullerton Museum Center in November.

Not many people know about what Millan-Ruiz does because she shies away from the limelight.

But the city, Fullerton School District and some community groups have recognized her throughout the years for her volunteerism.

“I just want Latino children to grow up proud of who they are and with a sense of accomplishment and feeling that they can be successful,” Millan-Ruiz said. “I could merely talk about it, but with dance and mini-history lessons they live it and it is engraved in their souls.”

That’s what Melissa Sanchez said she is learning. To the 10-year-old girl, performing Mexican folkloric dances is more than a pastime.

“It makes me happy,” Melissa said. “I feel really proud when I dance.”

Added Edith: “You can’t really explain it, but you feel good.”