Chicana Dance Crew Blends Tap and Mexican Footwork | If Cities Could Dance

San Francisco’s La Mezcla dance company, founded and led by Vanessa Sanchez, uses dance and song to tell stories of Chicana history, culture and resistance. Blending tap dance and son jarocho zapateado (traditional footwork from Veracruz, Mexico,) Sanchez describes this unique dance style as “zapatap.” Watch these dancers perform dynamic choreography in front of iconic Mission District murals and landmarks, then bring us back to the 1940s West Coast Zoot Suit era (popularized by Bay Area playwright Luis Valdez) when young Mexican-American men and women, "pachucos" and “pachucas,” proudly repped their identity, while defying cultural and style taboos. Rocking big hair and flashy zoot suits, the women of La Mezcla reclaim this early California history. 📺 WATCH this tap tutorial from Vanessa Sanchez:    • Tap Dance How-To for Beginners | If Cities...   #IfCitiesCouldDance #Tap #Footwork #sanfrancisco 🔔 Hit that SUBSCRIBE button! 🔔 https://bit.ly/SubscribeKQEDArts 📖 Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/ICCDxSF 🎶 Listen to our curated playlist: https://bit.ly/ICCDxSFxMusicPlaylist 🌎 Explore a map of San Francisco’s Mission District: https://bit.ly/ICCDxSFxStoryMap ****** 👍🏽 Join us on Instagram:   / kqedarts   👍🏽 Like us on Facebook:   / kqedarts   👍🏽 Follow us on Twitter:   / kqedarts   📖​ Chapters: 00:00 Meet La Mezcla dance company 00:32 San Francisco's Mission District 01:08 Vanessa Sanchez 01:19 Sandy Vazquez 02:19 What is Son Jarocho Zapateado 03:18 Origins of Pachuquismo Show 04:36 Emmeline Gonzalez-Beban 👟Featured dancers and musicians: Vanessa Sanchez Sandy Vazquez Emmeline Gonzalez-Beban Kirsten Millan Mónica Fimbrez Elena De Troya 🎨Featured murals: “Take It To the Top: Latin Rock”, ©2017 Precita Eyes Muralists “The Carnaval Mural”, Daniel Galvez “Y tu, y yo y Cesar”, Carlos “Kookie” Gonzalez with help from Suaro Cervantes (first painted in 1984 with muralist Ray Patlan) “Once Upon A Time In The Mission” ©2017 Precita Eyes Muralists Urban Youth Arts Program "Llorona's Sacred Waters", acrylic mural on stucco, 30’ x 70’. York and 24th Streets, San Francisco Mission District, Juana Alicia ©2004 “Y tu, y yo y Cesar”, Carlos “Kookie” Gonzalez with help from Suaro Cervantes (first painted in 1984 with muralist Ray Patlan) “Take It To the Top: Latin Rock”, ©2017 Precita Eyes Muralists “Women of the Resistance,” © 2019 by Lucia Ippolito. All Rights Reserved. “La Rhumba No Para: The Chata Gutierez Mural” © 2015 Precita Eyes Muralists and Carlos “Kookie” Gonzalez “The Carnaval Mural”, Daniel Gálvez