Traditional Mexican Wedding Dances

Mexico is said to have a romantic culture, so it is no surprise that Mexican weddings are full of rich traditions, and that Mexico itself is popular for destination weddings. Mexican wedding traditions are present in each stage of the wedding, even before the groom asks the bride to marry him. (He should ask for the bride’s father’s permission, of course!) Here at Bella Ballroom we are always interested in all of the wedding traditions each culture practices, especially the wedding dance traditions. In Mexico, dance and music are a huge part of celebrations and weddings.  Below we explore some of these wedding dance traditions:

Processional

Mexican weddings are almost always held in the Roman Catholic Church. Once the ceremony is completed, the bride and groom will be accompanied by live musicians with all of their friends and family following behind them. During the processional celebration, the wedding parade will make their way dancing toward the reception. It’s common for people to come out of their homes in colonial towns to celebrate with the wedding party as it passes by.

La Vibora de La Mar

“La Vibora de la Mar” meaning sea snake, is a song that wedding guests sing and dance to holding hands in a circle around the married couple. Eventually, the dancers will duck under a “bridge” formed by the bride and groom holding hands and standing on chairs in facing each other.

Lanzar el Ramo

“Lanzar el Ramo,” or to throw the boquet, occurs halfway through the wedding reception. Similar to Western variants of throwing the boquet, single ladies gather around the bride who will throw her boquet blindly to one of them. Dancing occurs around the bride as she teases her girlfriends with the boquet before tossing it. The myth shares that the one who catches the boquet will be the next to get married.

Tirar la Liga

“Tirar la Liga” is the what is known as the Garter Toss in the U.S. The groom removes his bride’s garter, surrounded by his single male family and friends. While the bride remains sitting in the middle of the circle of men, the friends grab the groom and mess around with him on the dance floor. They dance in such a way to recall the Lucha Libre wrestlers. All the dancing occurs to fun music. The groom may be lifted by all the male guests until at some point the music will stop and the groom has to throw the carter without looking towards the gathered group of men. The man who catches the garter is believed to be the one to marry next. At the end the toss, it is typical for the lady who caught the boquet to dance with the man who caught the garter in front of the entire party. Eventually the rest of the guests will join back onto the dance floor, and the celebration continues.

The Money Dance

As seen in a variety of cultures, the money dance is a traditional celebration where the guests take turns dancing with the bride and groom. The guests pin money on the clothes of the bride and groom in exchange for a moment to dance with them.

In Mexico, dancing is a huge part of parities. Dancing will be throughout the entire reception until guests go home and the celebration is over.

Article by Ziva.