Mambo and The Maya

Abstract

The article describes an incidence of Mambo dancing in Antigua, Guatemala that was not Mambo, not Mayan and not social. In celebration of Corpus Christi, male performers dressed in Disney-style costume characters and executed “Mambo” routines while Merengue music blared from a pick-up truck. The contradictory display of dancing is an example of the global impact of dance and encourages reflection about the complicated meanings communicated by performers who incorporate body-based art into Latin American social and economic paradigms. The author traces the historical and social background of contemporary Maya performance and proposes that this particular display of Mambo dance articulates a local response to transnational, commercial culture.