Community mourns Raul Chavez Portillo, a leader of Aztec dance in Denver
LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Ancient traditions, practices and knowledge converged in a celebration of the life of Denver cultural icon Raul Chavez Portillo at Crown Hill Mortuary in Lakewood May 19. Chavez was born in Mazatlán, Mexico in 1952 and moved to Denver when he was a teenager bringing his love and passion for Danza Azteca (Aztec dance) with him.
Chavez died on May 7, 2022 at 68 years old. Friends, family and supporters came together to mourn and honor him.
“It gives the community hope. There’s hope for our culture. He means love and he means beauty,” one mourner said.
Throughout his life in Denver, Chavez started and was a member of various Danza Azteca groups that offered support to the Chicano community in the Mile High City. Chavez first started dancing in 1973 and eventually formed Grupo Tlaloc.
Chavez performed for his entire adult life. Just before he passed away, he participated in a dance to honor Alicia Cardenas, the owner of Sol Tribe Tattoo that was killed in a shooting in December of 2021.
“He was humble. He was gentle. And you learn from him just like that,” another mourner said.
Chavez was raised in a family that descended from generations of dancers and healers. For decades, his mission was to heal people through cultural inclusivity and mutual respect using practices that were rooted in the Aztec empire, but had been hidden for centuries after colonialism began.
“The vibrant and flourishing Azteca community that exists here, you can trace it back in part to the work that Raul Chavez Portillo did and there’s no denying that,” said Dr. Renee Fajardo, a teacher, mentor, and author in Denver’s Chicano community.
“As we progress, we see this beautiful urban city and all of these beautiful traditions of art and we don’t realize that all of this stands on the shoulders of somebody, something, some people. And Raul Chavez Portillo is one of those people,” Fajardo added.
Traditional dancers came from across the United States and Mexico in their full regalia to pay tribute to Chavez.
“We’re actually marching for our Capitán Raul, to open up the four directions, our animas, our spirits. We are calling them to allow us to put him to rest, to be able to say, 'Hey spirits, we are here. We are calling out for you to take him to the spirit world,'” said one of the dancers in attendance.
To those who came to recognize Chavez’s contributions to Denver, the rainbow that appeared in the sky during the memorial seemed fitting.
“Raul was a great mystic," Fajardo said. "He believed in symbols everywhere. He always said to us if I’m no longer there with you in body I will send you a sign. I think he sent us our sign. I think that rainbow is a sign."
Dana Knowles is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS and can be reached at danaknowles@rmpbs.org.
Brian Willie is the content production manager at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can contact him at brianwillie@rmpbs.org.