Upcoming Quest:
La Navidad en México 

WHEN: December 15, 8 a.m. ET

Angelo's Mexico Quest - La Navidad en México - will be recorded live on location in Chihuahua, Mexico, and will be aired December 15, starting at 8 a.m. ET on Flangoo.com/live.

Free to Flangoo subscribers.  Get access now.

Send in Your Questions ASAP

Your students can send in questions for Angelo to answer on screen!

Please send your questions in by December 7, 2022.

Click here to submit your questions for Angelo.

About the Quest

In addition to answering your students' questions, Angelo will join high school students from Chihuahua, Mexico, in a matachín procession and dance performance. He will be joined by hundreds of mariachi and norteño musicians, who traditionally serenade the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Angelo will also experience the national holiday dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe and participate in a fair-exposition where he’ll man an enchilada and taco truck, offering the delicacies to the families who take their children to witness the pre-Hispanic tradition.

It’s going to be another wonderful event full of authentic culture and Spanish language immersion. 

And as always, you never know what might happen! The only thing we can predict is we will get to experience authentic interactions, cultural events, and utilize the most common Spanish verbs in his encounters along the way.

*Changes may occur as the event unfolds.

About Los Matachines

The dance-drama of los matachines is an ancient tradition in the Hispanic Southwest. It is one of the very few dances shared by both Hispanic and Native peoples. Its roots can trace their influences back to the Middle Ages in Europe, and at the same time find New World influences included within their scope.

Currently, the matachines are societies of North and South American Native dancers who perform ritual dances. They are found from Peru up to northern New Mexico where the Spanish first influenced the New World and introduced Christianity. Some Matachines troupes have been performing for more than 300 years.

The Danza de Matachines is explained by oral tradition among most Indian tribes as the “Dance of the Moors and Christians,” and is the first masked dance introduced by the Spaniards, though its practice outside of the Iberian peninsula changed its cultural and spiritual significance. 

The dance was adopted by the people of the Americas, and today many forms of this dance still exist — though the dance steps vary among peoples, the dance formations are all similar. Masks continue to be used, but the style changes from village to village, or people to people. Its meaning is a celebration of Native peoples in the Americas, and their salvation through the unity of their faith and culture.

The Matachines dance for a deeper religious purpose. Most participants join to venerate either Mother Mary (Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Lourdes, Immaculate conception, etc.), a particular saint that pertains to the church they belong to, or simply to worship Christ or God the Holy Trinity.

Dressed in traditional ceremonial dress and clothing, the chief characters are El Monarca (typically Moctezuma or another tribal leader); the captains (usually 2-4 of Moctezuma's main generals); La Malinche or Malintzín, the Native or Mestizo woman; El Toro, the malevolent comic man of the play (also symbolizes Satan, or the Devil, according to Roman Catholic religious interpretations), dressed with the skins of the buffalo and wearing the horns of this sacred ancestor; and Abuelo, the grandfather, and Abuela, the grandmother. With the help of a chorus of dancers they portray the desertion of his people by Moctezuma, the luring of him back by the wiles and smiles of La Malinche, the final reunion of king and people and the killing of El Toro, who is supposed to have made all the mischief. Much symbolism is seen in these groups. The basic symbolism of the dance is good vs. evil, with good prevailing.

All of the cultural artifacts associated with the dance are blessed by a priest.

How to Watch Angelo's Mexico Quest

The program will be available on Flangoo.com, the leading World Language digital reader library for World Language teachers and students. Over 350,000 students are using Flangoo.com to improve their language proficiency today. Teachers love it.

Create a Flangoo account or log in.  You'll see an "Angelo's Quest" menu selection.

An active Flangoo subscription is required to view Angelo's Quests.

Current Flangoo.com subscribers get access to all quests for free.

New subscribers can subscribe for as little as $29.99 for one month of access for themselves and up to 180 students. No ongoing obligation.

We hope you enjoy Flangoo as much as you love Angelo's Quest. It's all about engaging (and cost-effective) ways you can improve your students' language proficiency.

We're planning an entire season of monthly quests! 

Full-year subscription to Flangoo is only $149.

Save up to 57% with a multi-year subscription. There's no better bang for your World Language buck!

All subscriptions include:

• Access to all Angelo's Quest programming and special resources
• Access for you - and up to 180 students at no additional charge!
• Access to the entire Flangoo.com digital reader library and time-saving teacher controls for the length of your subscription

Don't Miss a Single Quest*:

January 2023:
Los Parachicos

February 2023:
Death Road to Batopilas

March 2023:
Spring and Peace Festival

April 2023:
Zipline Adventure

May 2023:
Piñata Party

July 2023:
La Guelaguetza

*Quests are subject to change

Technical note:

Angelo's Quest will be broadcast on Flangoo.com with the help of the YouTube® platform.

If you plan to watch Angelo's Quest episodes, please talk to your IT person or tech department to ensure they allow videos from our Teacher's Discovery YouTube® Channel through your school's firewall. You can check to see if it works beforehand by going to flangoo.com/live and playing the YouTube video there.