The Baile del Moño is a representative dance in Vélez that consists of an exchange of couplets between a man and a woman. The word moño in Spanish refers to a strand of hair coiled and held, however the Real Academia Española (RAE) [Royal Spanish Academy] also defines this word as a colloquial way to express feelings of anger and frustration. A second use of the term moño, is used in reference to a dance in where the dancers express their feelings and emotions through poetic couplets. It also can be interpreted as a way of solving conflicts through the dance through the use of poetic couples. The word moño can also be interpreted as another way to say copla [couplet].
The video Baile del Moño / Corazon Santandereano 2001 (reference first video) presents the most commonly seen structure in the dance of the moño. This video was recorded in 2001 by Corazón Santandereano in the city of Bucaramanga and it belongs to the ensemble’s archives. The dancers are Edgar Andres Rivera and Sonia Cáceres (me). For this dance, the couple place themselves facing each other with approximately 2 meters of distance between them. The dance (baile) of the moño starts with a couplet often said by the male dancer to introduce the dance to the audience. After this couplet is recited, the man invites the woman to dance going back and forth in a straight line. Usually the woman accepts the invitation to dance the third time she is invited; once she agrees to dance, the man will follow the woman who is dancing in circles. One of the musicians of the ensemble will say/yell “moño pa’ el, moño pa’ ella” [couplet for him/ couplet for her] to indicate the turn of the dancer who has to say the couplet. The music will stop allowing the dancer to say the couplet. After the dancer recites the couplet, the music will resume, and the same dance continues with the dancers alternating turns to recite the couplet. Often the man will say four couplets including the couplet before starting to dance, and the woman will say three couplets.
In comparison with the video from 2001, the video Baile del Moño / Corazon Santandereano 2011 recorded by the same ensemble in 2011 (reference second video) presents the Baile del Moño with slight variations: 1) This performance involves more than one couple dancing; and 2) The initial poetic couplet that introduces the dance is said by one of the members that is not dancing. In reference to the number of dancers, one of the couples dances and after they finish a different couple will take their place and so on. In this performance, you will observe four different couples dancing.
The couplets that are used for each moño are usually written by the members of the ensemble that performs it. They might vary depending on the context in which the dance is performed