SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — An Aztec dance group in San Diego is keeping an ancient tradition alive through powerful performances that honor their indigenous Mexican roots and celebrate cultural identity.

Just outside his Encanto home, Alejandro Meraz keeps a sacred space. An altar, or ofrenda, dedicated to Saint Andrew that honors ancestors and dancers who have passed.

“Most of the people pray talking or singing, but we pray dancing," said Meraz, co-founder and leader of Danza Azteca Kuauhkoatl.

He and two others, including his wife, founded the Encanto-based group in 2021.

However, Meraz carries forward a more than 500-year-old indigenous tradition originating in central Mexico through more than three decades of dance.

“Two of my aunties took me with the man taught me this tradition be

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