Rosa Ramirez Guerrero (born November 14, 1934) is a

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

educator, artist and historian from El Paso, Texas. She was the founder of the International Folklorico Dance Group. Guerrero has also been active with work in the Catholic Church, and has been called the "Dancing Missionary" in religious circles. She is also known for her multicultural dance programs which have been performed around the country and featured in a film called ''Tapestry''. She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame and has an El Paso school named after her.

Biography

Guerreo was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. Her parents had migrated from Mexico. Guerrero began learning to dance at five years of age. As a child, she had been punished for speaking Spanish in school. Guerrero's first school was Morehead Elementary School, where she decided she wanted to be an "educator" in third grade. She went to El Paso High School, where she graduated in 1953. She later attended the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) on a dance scholarship, graduating in 1957. Guerrero was the first in her family to earn both bachelor's and master's degrees. She majored in elementary and high school education for her bachelor's degree and bilingual education for her master's. Guerrero received her first job from the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) with the help of educator, Hibbard Polk, in the early 1950s. She ended up teaching in El Paso schools for around 20 years, doing most of her teaching at Austin High School. Guerrero created the International Folklorico Dance Group, the first

ballet folklorico Baile folklórico, "folkloric dance" in Spanish, also known as ballet folklórico, is a collective term for traditional cultural dances that emphasize local folk culture with ballet characteristics – pointed toes, exaggerated movements, highly ...

group in El Paso, in 1970. In 1974, she created a film called ''Tapestry'' which describes the way she uses folk dances from around the world to celebrate diversity. The film won a Cine Golden Eagle Award in 1974 and was shown at the New York Film Festival. The International Folklorico Dance Group has appeared on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' and performed at the

Kennedy Arts Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. She has lectured on the history of dance and performed around the country. Between 1989 and 1994, she was also a part-time lecturer for UTEP. Her talks and dance performances are multicultural in nature so that she can reflect the cultural heritage of many different groups of people. She referred to her dance and history program as "Multicultural Tapestry." Her interpretation of the United States is that it is not a "

melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...

," but rather a "multicultural tapestry, a mosaic." She became the first living educator and the first Hispanic woman in El Paso to have a school named after her in 1993. In 1994 she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. Guerrero has also been inducted into the

El Paso Women's Hall of Fame The El Paso Women's Hall of Fame honors and recognizes the accomplishments of El Paso women. It is sponsored by the El Paso Commission for Women and was established in 1985. The first inductees were honored in 1990. Inductees are women who live in ...

. Guerrero has also earned the Ohtli Award from Mexico. Guerrero retired in 2015.

Biography

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