authenticity, syncretism, hybridity, New Mexico, Matachines

Syncretic and authentic are foten described as opposites. In our case study of the Matachines dance in New Mexico we show that rather than being opposites, syncretism is the precondition for authenticity. On the contrary, claims of purity (religious or ethnic) are inauthentic and can be tied to the social negotation of identity in conflictual situations.