Includes bibliographical references and index. ; Incongruous beginnings -- The experiential context. The Concheros -- The obligations: framing the context -- The experiential nexus: forming the self. Agency and the dance: ritualization and the performative -- Conchero speak: carrying the word -- Clothing matters -- Why dance? -- Power concerns: performing the self. Alliances and identity politics -- Oral tradition, myth, and history -- The Mexica and Mexicanidad.