Palma, Decorated Matachines Dance Staff of Jose Lucrecio Baca
Description
This three-pronged wooden dance staff, known as a palma, is carried in the left hand of Matachines dancers and other characters. It is turned in a counter-clockwise movement. It is moved continuously in the front of the body, from right to left, keeping time with the music. The three prongs precede the handles. The middle prong is not in the shape of a cross, which is frequently seen. This palma is covered in colored ribbons (purple, pink and blue) that have been pinned to the palma. The middle prong has had red decorative threads added to the top and around the base, a pink ruffle. It may have been used by the character La Malinche.
Object Information
Date Created:
1990
Local ID:
2014.58.9.13
Provenance:
The artifacts in this collection were used by the Matachine Dance Group led by Jose Lucrecio Baca. They were donated by his daughter. Mr. Baca, of Hispanic descent, learned Matachine dances in Taos, NM, where he grew up. He moved to Pueblo, CO in the 1940s and continued the dances. In the 1990s, Mr. Baca was awarded a grant by the Colorado Council on the Arts to travel throughout Colorado to revitalize the Matachine Dances.
Rights:
In Copyright