Puerto Rican music and dance were always a vibrant and active part of Ana María's life. Growing up she was surrounded by elders who kept cultural traditions alive because of nostalgia for home. She looked forward to weddings, baptisms and birthday parties where family and friends would bring congas, cuatros, guiros, and maracas, and she would dance to the rhythms of Puerto Rico all night long. As a young child, Ana María enjoyed playing percussion on "latas de galletas" (tins of Export Soda crackers) to the sounds of latin albums she would buy with her own allowance. As an adult, Ana Maria was inspired to bring her rich culture to life in Austin Texas so her baby son could know the joy of her childhood.
Tekina-eirú founded Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance in
1997 as an all volunteer-run, nonprofit 501(c)(3),
and since then, has become an expert resource
on the mainland US for Puerto Rico's cultural traditions.
She regularly returns to La Isla for research, ongoing training and
mentorship with generous folklore masters such as Modesto Cepeda at the
Escuela de Bomba y Plena de Puerto Rico ,
Joaquin Nieves Caldero of
Guateque Ballet Folklorico de Puerto Rico,
J. Emanuel Dufrasne-Gonzalez and Nelie Lebron-Robles of
Paracumbe,
Eric Gonzalez of Gibaro de Puerto Rico,
Tata Cepeda of the
Escuela de Baile de Bomba Dona Caridad Brenes de Cepeda.
Tekina-eirú is mentored in her native traditions by Cacike Ca Ciba Opil (Martin Veguilla) of the Concilio Taino Guatu-Ma-cu A Boriken .
She is the recognized Tekina Suania (Tierra Firme/for the Americas)
for El Concilio and is a Boycia "por derecho."
In addition to her ongoing training by Puerto Rican masters, Ana María has studied a variety of dance forms in New York and Austin, including classical ballet under Arletta Howard-Logan and Mexican folkloric dance under Roy Lozano, Chuy Chacon, Raymundo Guzman, and Jaime Guerrero (Monterrey, MX). Tekina-eirú began studying classical piano at the age of 5; her favorite years studying with Russian pianist Natasha Snitkovsky. She learned to play barriles and panderos with Modesto Cepeda, is self-taught on guitar and native flute, and adds the cuatro -- and of course the maraca -- to the list of instruments she loves to play. Her past credits include mainstage performances on the Paramount and Zilker Hillside theatres with the Roy Lozano's Ballet Folklórico de Texas professional company (1993-1997) and Austin Dance Ensemble. She co-choreographed and danced in the Cenzontle music video "La Bruja" (1998).
Ana María is honored to have co-directed and shared the stage with Modesto Cepeda and Cimiento de Puerto Rico (2001), Los Pleneros de la 21 (2002), Guateque de PR (2003), Paracumbe (2004), William Cepeda with AfroBoricua (2005), Gibaro de Puerto Rico (2006), Tata Cepeda (2007), El Concilio Taino (2008), and Los Tambores de Felix Alduen (2009). Tekina-eirú is the Founding Director of the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance & Cultural Center, and director and choreographer of PRFDance's professional-level performing company of dancers and musicians. She enjoys creating original company musicals that tell stories based in Puerto Rico's history and cultural traditions, a skill that is maturing under the mentorship of Rupert Reyes, Director of Teatro Vivo. Ana María teaches traditional dance and music, Puerto Rican culture and history to children and adults.
Tekina-eirú was named the Austin YWCA Woman of the Year for Arts (2005), and
was recognized for her contributions to the Taino community with
Areito Award for Dance and Theatre (2009).
In addition to her artistic credits, Ana María holds a doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Maynard's leadership and research skills are honed by her career at IBM Austin where she has filed numerous invention patents and received technical achievement awards, as well as a Trailblazer Award (2003) from The University at Texas. She conducts Globalization & Multilingual Research at the IBM Research Human Ability & Accessibility Center.
Puerto Rican music and dance has always been a very special part of Tekina-eirú's life. She is very proud to share the joy of her rich traditions with her community, and hand down her cultural heritage to the next generation!
See also: Founding Director's "Business" Bio