Mexican Hat Dance

The Jarabe is considered Mexico's 'national dance' and is the best known outside the country, often called the 'Mexican Hat Dance'. The dance symbolizes the courtship of a woman by a man, who at first is refused but accepted in the end. The man in a charro suit from Mexico's cowboy tradition  and the woman is dressed in a China Poblana outfit, based on the dress of an Asian woman who became famous in the city of Puebla in the colonial period. The female dancers master the art of swinging their skirts in a figure-eight while the men click their heals and perform energetic high stepping moves.