Olga Najera-Ramirez facts for kids

Olga Najera-Ramírez is an American anthropologist who studies Mexican culture. She teaches at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Since 1996, she has helped guide a student dance group called Grupo Folklórico Los Mejicas.

Growing Up and School

Olga Najera-Ramírez was born in Davenport, California. Her parents came to the United States from Mexico. When she was eight, her father passed away. Olga worked in farm fields to help her family. After high school, she went to the University of California Santa Cruz. She studied History and Latin American Studies there.

Dancing for Change

At the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), a dance group called Grupo Folklórico Los Mejicas started in 1972. At that time, there were not many Mexican people in Santa Cruz. Students were not allowed to speak Spanish in school. This was during the Chicano movement, a time when Mexican Americans worked for their civil rights.

Through Los Mejicas, students connected with their local community. They supported the Chicano movement. For example, they performed Folklorico dance at protests and rallies. Olga Najera-Ramírez joined Los Mejicas in 1974. She danced with the group until she finished her college studies.

Discovering a Passion

Olga's time with Grupo Folklorico Los Mejicas made her very interested in Mexican dance and traditions. In 1976, she met Rafael Zamarripa. He was a master of Baile Folklorico dance. His presentation made her even more interested.

Olga then went to the University of Guadalajara, in Jalisco, Mexico, to study dance. In 1979, she came back to the United States. She earned a Master's degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas. In 1987, Olga Najera-Ramírez received her doctoral degree. She studied Anthropology, focusing on Mexican folklore, also from the University of Texas.

Studying Culture

Olga Najera-Ramírez is now a full professor at University of California, Santa Cruz. She studies how cultures connect across countries. She looks at how people express their culture, how they form their identity, and how power works in relationships.

Olga has focused on how Mexican cultural practices, like dance and rodeo, become part of popular culture in the United States.

Making Documentaries

In 1996, Olga Najera-Ramírez made a documentary called La Charreada: Rodeo a la Mexicana. This film was twenty-six minutes long. It looked at Mexican rodeo and its connection to the Chicano movement.

In 2011, Olga Najera-Ramírez produced another documentary. It was titled Danza Folklórica Escénica: El Sello Artístico de Rafael Zamarripa. This film explores how folklórico dance grew and changed through the career of Rafael Zamarripa.