Amalia Hernández

Amalia Hernández Navarro (September 19, 1917 – November 4, 2000) was a Mexican ballet choreographer and founder of the Ballet Folklórico de México.

Hernández was born to the military officer and politician Lamberto Hernández and his wife Amalia Navarro.

She was a pioneer in developing Baile Folklorico, and in 1952, Hernández founded the Mexican Folkloric Ballet with only 8 dancers. By 1959, the ensemble had grown to 60 performers. It was commissioned to represent Mexico at the Pan American Games in Chicago, Illinois, in 1959. Hernández created over 60 choreographies in her lifetime.

Since 1960, Hernández's Ballet Folklórico de México has performed without interruption Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City.

Additionally, she founded the Folkloric Ballet School in Mexico City. Her brother, architect Agustín Hernández Navarro, designed the building in 1968.

Biography

Born in Mexico City on September 19, 1917, Amalia Hernández grew up in a wealthy home as her father was a prominent businessman with military and political involvement. She has been known to credit her mother for her interest in the arts, explaining a childhood full of art, singing, and music lessons. Her parents encouraged her interest in dance, her father going so far as to build a studio in their home. Her father was quoted as saying, “... there is no other alternative but to accept the career Amalia was born to have”.