From: "Ricardo J. Salvador" <rjsalvad@iastate.edu>
Subject: Re: Martha Stone/concheros
Reply-To: nahuat-l@acc.fau.edu
Organization: Iowa State University
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 23:44:52 GMT

In message <m0mLzgA-0001ttC@sdf.LoneStar.ORG> John Trimble writes:

>Can anyone on this list tell me if the very interesting book, At 
>the Sign of Midnight: The Concheros Dance Cult of Mexico by Martha 
>Stone, University of Arizona Press, 1975 is still in print. If 
>not, can  anyone suggest where I might be able to find a copy for 
>my personal library?

A quick scan of the 1992 Books In Print reveals that the book is
still in print in paperback form:

Stone, Martha J.
At the Sign of Midnight:  The Concheros Dance Cult of Mexico.
LC 73-76303
Ilus. 262 p. 1975. Paper.
11.50x
ISBN 0-8165-0507-1
Univ. of Arizona Press

The address and toll free number (for orders) for the U. of AZ Press:

University of Arizona Press
1230 N. Pank No. 102
Tucson, AZ 85719

1-800-426-3797

>Can anyone tell me what has become of Stone since the publication 
>of the book?

Our bibliographic database shows Stone's birth year as 1898.

>Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I should further 
>pursue my interest in Concheros--magazine articles, books, etc?

My guess is that you would find little in popular literature, and
only anectdotal information in scholarly works on Mexican folk dance
(this last impression comes from my electronic scan of our library
holdings on the keywords Mexico and Dance, which yielded a few
books on colonial and contemporary dance forms, a lot of sound
recordings, and one book on matachines).

Mainstream Mexican culture regards Conchero dancing as retrograde
and so you are likely to find only cursory articles on how the
natives celebrate Nonantzin at the Basilica of Guadalupe on 12
December, accompanied by snazzy photographs and little else.  I'm
also quite interested in the subject and have rarely seen little
beyond this sort of material.  When I was a teenager I danced
in a Ballet Folklorico where Conchero and Tarahumara dances were
our specialties.  We learned a lot about music and dance
techniques, but little about the cultic or cultural aspects.  We
once danced at the Hotel Camino Real in Cd. Jua'rez for a bunch
of blue-haired gringo tourists with the head of a Conchero cuadrilla
from Mexico City who was a joy to behold.  Our group had a band
of musicians who played the mandolin and drums off on the side
(I filled in on drum when necessary, which might tell you a little
about how our director regarding my dancing abilities ;), but this
guy danced, twirled and nearly _flew_, all the while playing his
concha mandolin.  I only conserve a couple of Conchero costumes,
the head-dresses were the first to go, and a lot of recorded music
of Prof. Francisco Moncada.  Of this, one of my favorites is the
"peregrination" (pilgrimage) music that we used to file in before
dancing:

Alabadas Sean Las Horas

Jueves Santo en la ma~ana
Madrugo' la virgen santa
Fue' en busca de Jesucristo
Pregunto' alla' en Huamantla
Por aqui paso' Se~ora
Antes que el gallo cantara

Y alabadas sean las horas
En que Cristo padecio'
Por librarnos del pecado
Bendita sea su pasio'n

.... and on for many wonderfully sincere, supplicant and out-of-tune verses.

>Many thanks for replying by email to 
>jtrimble@sdf.lonestar.org

Thanks for a useful reference.  I wasn't acquainted with the book.  I
must comment though that on cursory review I have found a number of
factual and interpretational errors, mainly concerning Stone's
interpretation of behavior or even of statements and words.  They 
are the sorts of mistakes one would expect of an outsider, though
the liner notes describe how Stone spent 20+ years dancing with
Concheros in one of the Guadalupe mesas and actually rose to the
rank of Capita'n de Comunidades.  Hard to figure.  May comment more
when I've read the book more thoroughly. 

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