Our Director

Jacquelyn Guzman is native to Tucson, AZ. Although she began dancing folklorico when she was a little older, at 13, she fell in love immediately. She was a part of Los Tucsonenses, under the direction of Lisabeth Almgren and Marcela Cardenas from Tucson High Magnet School and graduated with a Performance Arts Credential. She then became a member of Ballet Folklórico Tapatío, where she danced under the direction of Maestro Sergio Valle Vasquez for over eight years.

It was under Ballet Folklórico Tapatío where she began her teaching career. She taught the Infantil group for Tapatío for two years and was then given the opportunity to work at Sunnyside High School as the director of Los Diablitos Azules for three years. Wanting a change of pace and something new, Jacquelyn relocated to Las Vegas, NV in the fall of 2008. She began teaching students at Rancho High School, Ballet Folklórico Sol de Rancho. It was here that she saw a greater need for folklórico in the community and began teaching an Infantil group in the evenings. Most of the members of the Infantil group were siblings, cousins, neighbors of her high school students. When members of Sol de Rancho began graduating, they did not want to stop dancing and so, in 2012, Jacquelyn formed Ballet Folklórico Sol Huasteco with former students.

Jacquelyn is a proud Tucsonan and has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona and an Associate’s degree in Performing Arts with a Dance Emphasis from Pima Community College. She has also obtained her Master of Arts degree from the University of Southern California in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Jacquelyn has coordinated the folklórico component of the Clark County School District Mariachi and Folklórico Conference since 2009. She also had the honor to participate as an Assistant Director for the Las Vegas Mariachi and Baile Folklórico Conference in 2013 hosted by Tucson’s own CHISPA Foundation. Jacquelyn has also participated in numerous conferences, such as the Tucson International Mariachi and Folklórico Conference, Las Cruces International Mariachi and Folklórico Conference, the San Jose Mexican Heritage and Mariachi Festival, Danzantes Unidos Festival, and the Gran Festival de Folklor y Mariachi in Tucson, AZ.