Joseph Vasquez / The Collegian

Christmas is a time filled with presents, songs and other traditions –– Los Danzantes de Aztlan hopes that their annual Christmas program becomes one of them.

Los Danzantes has been holding performances for 20 years on the campus of Fresno State.

Putting the events together requires a lot of preparation throughout the school year.

“Its something I start thinking of before the semester even starts,â€Â said Victor Torres, Ph. D., the advisor and instructor for Los Danzantes.

This year’s program began with a procession of all the dancers marching down the isles –– all converging on stage.

They then began to have the younger dancers hit a piñata as part of their rendition of a traditional Mexican holiday custom of having a Posada.

Posadas are re-enactments of Mary and Joseph̢۪s search for lodging upon their arrival in Bethlehem.

Posadas translates in English as “innsâ€Â –– this religous ceremony ends with the breaking of the piñata.

Groups from all over the Valley highlighted many different sections of Mexico and the dance associated with that part of the country.

Los Danzantes de Aztlan Juvenil (Juvenile), who practices in the same location, also performed.

Local high school groups from Clovis High School and Central High School followed suit, showcasing the dances that represented their location in Mexico.

Natalie Maribojoc, a local talent from Corcoran, sang traditional ranchera songs as well as a few songs from famed Tejano singer Selena.

The host dance group, Los Danzantes de Aztlan, performed pieces from Veracruz, Michoacan, Tabasco and Chihuahua.

This summer, Los Danzantes was invited to participate in a show in Tijuana –– having been the only group from the United States to be invited.

They were surrounded by great talent and networked with some of the best instructors in the area.

The day after the performance, a workshop in Calabaceado from instructor Cecilio Cordero, known to his students as Maestro, also taught the Tijuana based group, Ticuan.

Calabaceado is a genre of dance with roots in the Baja, California and northern regions of Mexico.

It̢۪s a western style of dance influenced by ranchers and cowboys of the northern sections of Mexico.

While in Mexico, Los Danzantes was able to see the Calabaceado performed by Ticuan at a festival in La Mission, Mexico.

“I was inspired by the Calabaceado done by Ticuan,â€Â said Torres, who then wanted to bring the dance to his program.

Torres was able to use his contacts in Tijuana to order costumes from the Baja California region.

Many of the dances performed throughout Saturday night were accented with costumes from the regions being represented through dance.

These costumes are just as important to the performance as the steps are.

Each costume is researched for accuracy and proper representation of the dance and region.

The show concluded with the Calabaceado, a piece choreographed by Torres.

The dance is so exhausting that it is broken up into sections.

Each section or group would perform a small piece to allow the others a time rest.

On this piece, Torres was able to have his Juvenil youngsters join in with the older Los Danzantes dancers whom they look up to.

All of the dancers were dressed in clothes that depicted the area of the piece.

In this case, each dancer wore a western style outfit with boots, hat and jeans.

“It is very, very difficult to take something you have a vision of and create it from scratch,â€Â Torres said. “What made it easy was having students inspired and excited about wanting to dance that region.â€Â