66 Profile: “Danza Bufalo: A Discourse Community
Velentina Cabrera
Instructor JennaRose English
ENG 1013.77
19 October 2022
Cover Letter
When Mrs. English said that this paper was the hardest of the semester, well, she wasn’t joking. This research paper was filled with confusion, relief, tears, laughter, and possibly every feeling imaginable. Throughout this process I have learned to trust the process instead of focusing on the grade.
The first day we were presented with this assignment about a discourse community, I internally said “Oh No”! I had no clue what a discourse community was and when I read through the characteristics, it was like reading another language that faintly resembled English. Luckily, Mrs. English knew and expected this and was very patient when we asked questions, some being dumb.
Overall, I would say my biggest struggle on this research paper was picking a topic and finding the research to support it. Over the next weeks I continued to do research but was on most parts left empty handed. I was finding little information on my topic but was really passionate about the topic, so I continued and I’m glad I did. I was on the verge of switching my topics but then more information and resources were coming my way, so I decided to take it as a sign to continue with the Danza Bufalos.
As we walked into class, I was very stressed, but I was met with a miracle. Mrs. English had decided to push back the deadline to give us more time. I was absolutely thrilled to have had more time, but it really opened my eyes that if we had stayed on the same scheduled due date, we would have had no time to work. I used my time to research but there was still a piece of me that wasn’t necessarily sure what I was looking for in my research. From my understanding, at this point, I thought that the assignment was to write about how our researched community was a discourse community. Let’s just say, I was going down the wrong path.
Now, it’s approximately 2 days till the rough draft is due and I have 200 words written on the page. My mind is completely scattered everywhere but we were served with something I wished we would have received the first day on this paper: This project is not about our research, but about what is a discourse community. I had spent so much time focusing on my research of the Danza Bufalos that I had failed to do any on Swales’ characteristics. Let’s just say this was a major turning point in my essay.
I continued my essay, but I felt that something was missing. The essay felt too boring, and I felt unfulfilled in my writing. Mrs. English had said that this research paper should feel boring. but I thought she was exaggerating, which she was not.
At this point, it is the day before the final essay is due and I’m stressed out because I’m scared of the chance that I didn’t cite sources correctly. I don’t want to risk plagiarism, but I looked carefully and didn’t use a generator so I should be fine. Overall, I’m very proud of the work that I’ve put in, and if I don’t get the grade I hoped for, I’m okay with that. I have learned so much about a community that I have been a part of for 9 years, of which I would have never learned had it been for this assignment.
Danza Bufalo: A Discourse Community
In 1990, professor of linguistics and co-director of the Michigan Corpus John Swales published his book Genre Analysis, where he introduced the six characteristics of a discourse community (Wardle, 1). The Danza Bufalos, a religious organization from St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, serves as an example of Swales’ definition of a Discourse community.
Before we move forward, what is a Discourse Community and who created the idea? According to Swales, a discourse community is a “collection of people or groups that work towards a common goal through communication.” According to Swales, a discourse community is composed of six characteristics: has a set of broadly public goals, has mechanisms of intercommunication between its members, uses its participatory mechanisms to provide information and feedback, possess one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims, has a specific lexis, and has a threshold of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise (Discourse).
The first characteristic Swales introduces is the idea that all discourse communities share common public goal(s) within its members. This idea refers to a goal that anyone with or access to the community will know about. The next characteristic discusses the idea that the community must have ways in which they communicate. According to Swales, these mechanisms may include ways such as meetings, letters, conversations, and telecommunication (Wardle, 7). Utilizing the mechanisms in the second characteristics, the third characteristic states that these mechanisms are used by participants to communicate. The fourth characteristic discusses genres used by the community, or writing used collectively by the community. These include any rulebooks, schedules, agendas, or videos watched by all members. The fifth characteristic states that a discourse community has specific acquired vocabulary that is used primarily by the specific organization. Lastly, the sixth characteristic states that a discourse community has levels of members and expertise throughout the community. The community should be built up of experts and beginners that work together to keep the community running (8).
Now that we have discussed what is a discourse community, let’s bring the topic to a real-world example. Let’s take the Danza Bufalos for example. The Danza Buffalo is a Hispanic organization at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church that carries out the Hispanic tradition of honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe (Hispanic). The particularly Mexican tradition dates back to 1531, after it was reported that the Lady of Guadalupe appeared to the Aztec Indian, San Juan Diego. The religious dance is thought to have been an originally Spaniard worship tradition brought to the New World (Deschamps). The practice has immigrated and spread, with people making their own groups and organizations such as St John the Apostle’s very own “Danza Bufalos.”
By following Swales’ very own characteristics, we can classify this organization as a discourse community. According to Jorge Portillo, the Monarca of the Danza Búfalos, “La danza es una alabanza a Dios y su propósito es transmitir el amor de Dios a los demás.” The Danza Buffalo Facebook also says, “Segunda misión pero el día de ayer comenzamos el adviento con nuestra madre y señora nuestra para caminar con ella el camino de la conversión y arrepentimiento de nuestras malas inclinaciones (Soto).” In these quotes from the interview and Facebook post, they discuss the group ‘s goal of being a vessel to spread the love of God and honor Our lady of Guadalupe.
The Matachines of the Danza Bufalos meet weekly, Mondays and Thursdays, from 7-8:45 pm. In these meetings they discuss the upcoming events and performances, mandatory meetings for parish members, and where they practice their steps. Along with these weekly meetings, they use WhatsApp to communicate. These conversations include discussions of meeting dates, Traje ideas, and rosary dates (Jorge). As well as having communication outside and in preparation for the dance, there are also ways of communicating while dancing. During the dance itself the danzantes communicate via movement, signals, and sounds. According to Dulce Rico, a member of the Danza Bufalo, she says, “The Lanza tells us everything. It tells us when to stop and listen, when to do our last pasos, and when to do the final.” She also says, “The gritos are also a crucial part. Con un grito sabemos como estamos en ánimo y pos sonamos como coro” (Dulce). In these quotes from the interview, she talks about the Lanza, which is an arrow used by the captain to show that it’s time to begin a new step or end steps.
The Danza Bufalo, as well as having ways in which they communicate, also have some distinct language and lexis. The Danza uses words such as Monarca, Matachines, Lanza, and Sonaja. A Sonaja is a maraca made from a can filled with bullets or pebbles that the dancers shake in their right hand. The Sonaja serve as a way of keeping rhythm throughout the dance to make sure everyone moves in unison. A Lanza is also carried while dancing and is carried in the left hand. The Lanza can be bow-and-arrow shaped or spear-shaped covered in fur with many adding a deer antler to the top. A Monarca is the leader or captain figure of the organization and traditionally the ones who create the “pasos” or steps the danzantes dance. These individuals lead the dancers using their Lanzas by raising and shouting. A Matachin or “los matachines” are the rest of the community, who are not captains. The Matachines make up the congregation, who follow the lead of the matachin and respond to the Monarcas’ calls and shouts (Dulce).
As discussed before, the Danza is made up of levels which are Matachines, Monarcas, Malinches. The Matachines and Malinches serve as the expert level of the organization. These individuals lead the dancers and stand in the center to serve as a viewpoint for the other dancers. The matachines are the rest of the members, whether they have joined that same year, or have been a member for 10 years. As time goes on, and new generations join, matachines may become Monarcas or Malinches to continue the tradition of the dancing for Our Lady of Guadalupe (Jorge).
Although a small community, the Danza Buffalo helps illustrate Swale’s six characteristics: a common goal, methods of communication among its members, unique vocab, levels of membership, and different genres (Wardle).
Works Cited
Cabrera, Velentina. Dulce Rico. Personal Communications, October 10, 2022
Cabrera, Velentina. Jorge Portillo. Personal Communications, October 10, 2022
Cantu E. Norma. “Matachines.” Texas State Historical Association, updated, November 30, 2019, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/matachines.
Deschamps, Claudia. “Dance and Devotion: Matachines Tradition Honors Our Lady Of Guadalupe.” NBC News, updated, December 12, 2015, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/dance-devotion-matachines-tradition-honors-our-lady-guadalupe-n477836.
“Discourse Communities.” The University of Memphis University Libraries, updated, June 30, 2022, https://libguides.memphis.edu/engl1010/discourse_comm.
“Hispanic Ministry.” St John The Apostle Catholic Church Website, eCatholics, https://sjtanrh.com/hispanic-ministry.
Kronenberger, John. “Discourse Communities from the Perspective of an Intern.” PechaKucha, August 11, 2020, https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/discourse-communities-from-the-perspective-of-an-intern.
“Los Matachines: Soldados de la Virgen (Chihuahua).” Mexico Desconocido, January 1999, https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/los-matachines-soldados-de-la-virgen-chihuahua.html#:~:text=Los%20mitos%20explican%20que%20los,el%20simbolismo%20de%20la%20flor.
“Matachines: significado, historia, su danza, y mas.” Ego Chihuahua, December 12, 2021, https://egochihuahua.com.mx/cultura/matachines-significado-historia-su-danza-y-mas/.
Soto, Martha. Danza Bufalos. December 4, 2017. The Danza Bufalo along with the Mariachis and Folklorico dancers celebrating the Virgen de Guadalupe. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/dbufalos.
Wardle, Elizabeth, Doug Downs. “Writing About Writing.” 11th Edition, Boston: Bedford St Martin’s, 2011, https://www.mjreiff.com/uploads/3/4/2/1/34215272/swales.pdf.
Wilson Katie; Carolyn Miller. “Discourse Community.” Genre Across Borders, https://genreacrossborders.org/gxb-glossary/discourse-community.
