In a traditional dance dating back to Spanish colonial times, approximately 600 colorfully costumed matachines dancers paid honor to the Virgin Mary on the morning of Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in a way which promises to become a new tradition at Mission Concepción.
Wearing the distinctive beaded, embroidered, feathered and embellished costumes and headdresses of their individual troupes.
The beat of drums, along with prayers performed a ritual dance on the side altar of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The matachines dance is rooted in a medieval dance re-enacting the battle between the Spaniards and the Moors and was adapted during the Spanish conquest of the Americas to represent the battle of Christianity against the indigenous religious practices, incorporating the music and dances of the native people. Several different characters are part of the original Danza de Matachines and a number of the local dance troupes were accompanied by versions of El Viejo, a devil figure with whip who tries to lead people astray.