Mexican folk dancing brings her back to

By Celeste Edenloff

Originally from Mexico City, Nelly DeLaRosby, who has lived in the Alexandria area for more than 20 years, is proud of her Mexican heritage and welcomes questions from anyone about it.

She said the preschool children she works with at the Early Education Center in Alexandria often comment on her thick Mexican accent or will ask her questions, which she welcomes.

“They tell me I sound funny or different,” she said, with a wide grin on her face. “Don’t be afraid to ask people from other cultures questions. Most like to share about their heritage.”

DeLaRosby shared some of her heritage by way of performing a Mexican folk dance at the first-ever Diversity Festival that took place in September 2022 at the Alexandria Technical and Community College.

She enjoys dancing, whether it is Mexican folk dances, Zumba or salsa dancing. She even used to be a Zumba instructor at the Alexandria Area YMCA.

“I just love to dance,” she said.

The Mexican folk dance she performed was to the song, “El Son de la Negra,” which she said is a very popular song and dance, almost like a second national anthem for Mexico.

“El Son de la Negra” is one of the most played and overall adored sons in Mexico, she explained.

“This song is performed for special events, festivals, celebrations and more specifically, for Mexican Independence Day,” she said, noting that although it comes from Jalisco, Mexico, this song is an important part of the Mexican folk culture that involves mariachis, in their typical mariachi attire, playing the song while women wear big, vibrant, colorful dresses.

The dance moves that go with “El Son de la Negra” involve a lot of high energy, spinning body movement, footwork, arm movement and body percussion with frequent foot tapping, which highlights the musical composition. And typically, she said, the dance involves many people or at least a male and a female.

Although she is not professionally trained to dance to that song, DeLaRosby said she interprets it from what she remembers growing up and watching others, including her mother, dance to that song. She usually just performs it by