3/27/2018

Chinelos In California



Dancer with flames on velvet costume with toddler daughter


Dancers in blue and white horizontal striped costumes

Chinelos Family Fun and Culture

In 1870 in the town of Tlayacapan (in Northeastern Mexico) a group of young children and teens were fed up with European Spanish and French crown rulers, colonial miners, the Catholic Church and hacienda owners who forbade indigenous people to celebrate in carnival before Ash Wednesday. In protest the teens created masks with cartoon faces of Spanish kings and overlords with beards or rags to cover their faces. Mask making was part of ritual life going back thousands of years to Mesoamerican cultures in Mexico. The teens dressed in rags disguised their identities to avoid trouble with "overlords." They danced to music of hand made drums, whistles and thus on Carnival the tradition of Chinelos was born. Their dance evolved to mock European mannerism, was best refined in Morelos, Mexico.

The trend of American Chinelos is growing as a society for culture and fun passed down by family. It is based in tradition. Dancers tell the history as they share with their children and grandchildren as a political, religious and cultural event. 











The costumes are often made by Grandmothers and relatives. They can cost thousands of dollars to purchase, so children's costumes are often re-sold as the child grows. There are five parts to the costume: A long full tunic, a mesh mask, a feathered headdress, a cape and gloves. There are different styles and colors of robe- striped cotton duck in wide cobalt blue and white or green and white vertical panels which indicate what city ancestors came from in Mexico. Velvet is also used and has a lush sheen but becomes very hot inside the costume.
Underneath the robe a dancer wraps bandannas to wick up sweat and add to the disguise of the face. The mask is structured from palm fronds similar to those used in Palm Sunday mass, which are light in weight.

Children's costumes often have Disney figures, Pokemon, and various Cartoons while adults have religious scenes of Our Lady of Guadalupe, The Passion of Christ, ancient Aztec symbols, eagles, skulls, and flowers are artistically sewn in beadwork. 


Preparing for the Carnival or parades in California is a family affair. Often dancers join in a local's home to secretly prepare their costumes. Up until around 2000 Chinelos would only dance four days prior to Ash Wednesday, keeping with a liturgical calendar. Today the trend is to enter also into parade in Santa Barbara Old Spanish Days, Christmas parades, Swallows Day, and Cinco de Mayo celebrations. The groups have family banners, region flags and carry Mexican and American flags. Families participate together, they are assisted by members who rope off their group as the dancers cannot see well and parades with horses and vehicles can be dangerous and cause accidents.

The dance, is called a “brincon” or “jump.” It derives from Natuatl tzineloa which translates to shoulder and hip movement. There are a set of repetitive steps. The choreography is easy and fun. With feet apart and knees slightly bent, the dancers take two shuffling steps, then leading with one shoulder or the other, take a small jump to the right or left. Dancers join in and drop out for longer events but the group dances as long as the band plays. Audience at the San Juan Capistrano Swallows Day parade all clapped, bounced and enjoyed the energy. 

Side note- if you are signed up for a parade you do not want to be the act right after the Chinelos as nothing will be as delectable spectacle.

Caroline Gerardo copyright  © all rights reserved for article, photographs and videos 

Diversión y cultura familiar Chinelos

En 1870 en el pueblo de Tlayacapan (noreste de México) un grupo de niños y adolescentes estaban hartos de los soberanos de la corona europea española y francesa, los mineros coloniales, la Iglesia Católica y los hacendados que prohibieron a los indígenas celebrar en el carnaval antes del Miércoles de Ceniza . En protesta, los adolescentes crearon máscaras con caras de dibujos animados de reyes españoles y señores con barbas o harapos para cubrirse la cara. Hacer máscaras era parte de la vida ritual que se remonta miles de años atrás a las culturas mesoamericanas en México. Los adolescentes vestidos con harapos disfrazaron sus identidades para evitar problemas con los "señores supremos". Bailaron con música de tambores hechos a mano, silbatos y así en el Carnaval nació la tradición de Chinelos. Su baile evolucionó para burlarse del manierismo europeo, fue mejor refinado en Morelos, México.

La tendencia del Chinelos estadounidense está creciendo como una sociedad de cultura y diversión transmitida por la familia. Está basado en la tradición. Los bailarines cuentan la historia mientras comparten con sus hijos y nietos como un evento político, religioso y cultural.

El vestuario a menudo lo hacen abuelas y parientes. Pueden costar miles de dólares para comprar, por lo que los disfraces de los niños a menudo se vuelven a vender a medida que el niño crece. Hay cinco partes para el disfraz: una larga túnica completa, una máscara de malla, un tocado de plumas, una capa y guantes. Hay diferentes estilos y colores de pato de algodón a rayas en azul cobalto ancho y paneles verticales blancos o verdes y blancos que indican de lo que provienen los antepasados ​​de la ciudad en México. Velvet también se usa y tiene un brillo exuberante, pero se vuelve muy caliente dentro del disfraz.
Debajo de la túnica, una bailarina envuelve pañuelos para absorber el sudor y aumentar el disfraz de la cara. La máscara está estructurada a partir de hojas de palma similares a las utilizadas en la masa del Domingo de Ramos, que son livianas.

Los disfraces de los niños a menudo tienen figuras de Disney, Pokémon y varios Dibujos animados, mientras que los adultos tienen escenas religiosas de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, La Pasión de Cristo, antiguos símbolos aztecas, águilas, calaveras y flores se cosen artísticamente en abalorios.


Prepararse para el Carnaval o desfiles en California es un asunto familiar. A menudo, los bailarines se unen en la casa de un local para preparar en secreto sus disfraces. Hasta alrededor de 2000, los Chinelos solo bailaban cuatro días antes del Miércoles de Ceniza, manteniendo un calendario litúrgico. Hoy la tendencia es participar también en el desfile en los Viejos Días Españoles de Santa Bárbara, los desfiles de Navidad, el Día de las Golondrinas y las celebraciones del Cinco de Mayo. Los grupos tienen pancartas familiares, banderas de la región y llevan banderas mexicanas y estadounidenses. Las familias participan juntas, son asistidas por miembros que se desprenden de su grupo ya que los bailarines no pueden ver bien y desfilan con caballos y los vehículos pueden ser peligrosos y causar accidentes.

El baile, se llama "brincon" o "salto". Se deriva de Natuatl tzineloa, que se traduce en movimiento de hombro y cadera. Hay un conjunto de pasos repetitivos. La coreografía es fácil y divertida. Con los pies separados y las rodillas ligeramente flexionadas, los bailarines dan dos pasos para arrastrarse, luego, con un hombro u otro, dan un pequeño salto hacia la derecha o hacia la izquierda. Los bailarines se unen y abandonan para eventos más largos, pero el grupo baila mientras la banda toque. La audiencia en el desfile del día de San Juan Capistrano Swallows aplaudió, rebotó y disfrutó de la energía.

Nota al pie: si está inscripto para un desfile, no quiere ser el acto justo después del Chinelos, ya que nada será tan delicioso espectáculo.


3/09/2018

Don't Pay Collection Account Until You Read This


 Paying Off a Collection Can Reduce FICO Score

Here's how why what to do
Collection companies have fibbed over the years of telling consumers that paying off collections will raise their credit scores. However, paying off collections lowers their FICO scores.

Collections are usually reported on the credit as a “9” status or collection account. This means the account has already been "written off" and assigned to collections by the creditor. Once an account is reported this way on the credit report, the damage to the credit score is irreversible, unless that item is removed completely from the report. If the account is paid off, the collection company reports that the account now has a $0 balance, but they do not usually delete the item off the report.

The account has already become a collection, and the risk of the consumer defaulting on another account is already very high, due to that collection. Credit score will increase if it is paid off, because paying off a collection after the fact, doesn't lower the risk of defaulting in the future. It actually may decrease the scores because it shows now as a recent problem in addition to being written off in the past as two strikes.
 
However, the DATE OF LAST ACTIVITY is updated to the date the account was paid off.  if that account was sent to collections 3 years ago, the date of last activity is 3 years old and the impact to the credit score is not as much. But if the consumer pays off that collection today, they just update the date of last activity to today's date, sometimes causing the scores to go DOWN as a result.

Clients try to do the right thing and pay off collections, but their scores can be lower as a result. Some loan programs do not require borrowers to pay off Medical Collections, read the details and know the end program BEFORE you pay anything off. FICO Score is an important piece that drives mortgage interest rates so you don’t want to find out an interest rate is jumping upwards because the Borrower paid off a debt. Oh no – painful.


Help your clients work with collection companies to
have their negative item removed completely from their report, if they pay it off.  Negotiate a settlement with deletion!!!

Any more questions? Call me!
Caroline Gerardo Barbeau
C G  949- 784- 9699
NMLS 324982