The Costumbres Folk Ensemble hails from Monterrey, in the province of Nuevo León. This desert region in the north of the country is home to the vaqueros, the Mexican cowherders. The group's repertoire highlights the culture of these 'cowboys', which over the course of history has been influenced by Polish, German and Czech immigration. Their dances include the polka and the scottish, and their orchestras feature the violin, the fifth-string guitar and the emblematic accordion. The life of the vaqueros revolved around manual labour, often hard work, given the arid natural environment of the region. This hard labour is reflected in the simple, light and practical traditional clothing worn by the dancers. The ensemble will also be presenting traditional dances from the Mexican regions of Jalisco and Nayarit.
