Festooned in traditional costumes, 260 Aztec and Mexicali dancers have set a new world record for the largest ancient Mexican ceremonial dance. To break the record the group had to dance for five minutes, although some kept on dancing for hours.
As well as the spectacular and colourful costumes the dancers also played traditional instruments such as the huehuetl, teponaztili, ocarina, and atecocolli. Such dances were originally created to honour Aztec gods like Ometeotl, the god of duality.
The dance took place at Teotihuacán, which was once one of the most important cities in Mesoamerica. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has some of the world’s finest examples of Mesoamerican pyramids – the largest of which is over 65 metres tall. Teotihuacán is 48 kilometres from Mexico City.
Representatives from UNESCO, Guinness World Records and other observers from the city government of San Juan de Teotihuacan were present. 20 participants were disqualified for not following the correct dance and dress rules.
Mexico holds a number of other dance records, including largest Mexican folk dance (457 people) and largest Thriller dance (13,597 people).