PHOTO BY SUSANNA FROHMAN. SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. 10.14.01
Copal smoke surrounds the participants of an annual Guerrero ceremony, including thirteen year-old Mario Castro, center, and his mother Laura Castro, left, and Guererro sponsor Ricardo Santana Flores. The young male participants, dressed in traditional Aztec traje, listen to the advice of elder women participants. Among other things, the young men are taught that prayers rise to the creator in the form of copal smoke and dance. The annual ceremony has been revived from the ancient Aztec practice which heps boys transition from childhood into adulthood. The Castros founded the Izkalli Dance group in Morgan Hill.

