Pachuco style is coming back to life this Friday night at Cal State Long Beach.
The Chicano Latino Studies Student Association will be hosting its second annual Pachuco Swing dance from 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. in the Kinesiology East Gym.
Organizers Julieta Hernandez, Luis Guerrero and Nancy Haro are channeling their inner pachuco and pachuca for one night of fun in this celebration of Chicano culture.
“It’s important to revisit this because during the 1940s, pachucos with the whole Zoot Suit Riots are portrayed as something negative and they were portrayed as delinquents,” Hernandez said. She is one of the co-presidents for ChLSSA as well as an organizer for this eventnd is one of the organizers of the event. “It was a form of resistance but they were not delinquents. Just how anyone kinda rebels and wants to have their own style, that’s exactly what these groups of Mexican-American youth were doing. So that’s why we just want to embrace it in a positive light and inform people about what actually happened to these Mexican-American youth during the Zoot Suit Riots and just enjoy some music.”
The ChLSSA is using this event to take back the word pachuco as a reclaiming of power. The Pachuco Swing dance is meant to celebrate and embrace the old school pachuco and break stereotypes.
The classic style has transcended through the 1930s,1940s, and the 1950s. The zoot suit which is typically worn in Pachuco culture is meant as a symbol of resistance against the marginalization of Mexican-American culture.
The dance promises to be just as informative as it is fun. Pachuco Swing will feature lectures on pachuco style and the Zoot Suit Riots that occurred during World War II. There will also be a swing dance lesson at the start of the event.
“When you dress the [pachuco] style and you’re looking at othe people who do know it and you’re seeing it, that’s how we embrace the culture and we expose others to it and we’re going to educate people on it,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero, senior double majoring in Chicano/Latino studies and history, proposed the event for the first time last year after having been inspired by the the annual Barrio Boogie held in Boyle Heights. He said he heard of the event through a friend and wanted to bring the same culture to CSULB.
“It [Barrio Boogie] was initiated originally by an older friend of mine, he goes by Barrio Dandy, his name is Jason de Luna,” Guerrero said. “I wanted to do just as they were doing, challenging all the stereotypes and negativity associated with the pachuco image. I wanted to challenge this and help people to embrace their culture. The pachuco experience is one of the first experiences that we can relate to the overall chicano experience here in the United States.”
All three organizers are graduating seniors this semester, but Hernandez hopes the event will live on.
Attendees are strongly encouraged to dress in the pachuco style. The event will include vendors, music and free refreshments.
The second annual Pachuco Swing dance from 6:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. in the Kinesiology East Gym.