Photo Credit

Dr. Ana María "Tekina-eirú" Maynard
Founding Director and Choreographer

From her roots in Barrio Quemados de San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, Dr. Ana María "Tekina-eirú" Grizzaffi Velez de Maynard is a proud blood descendant of the native Tainos who call the island Boriken. Ana María was raised in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in the suburbs of La Isla (Bronx, Puerto Rico), and has dedicated her life to preserving and handing down Puerto Rico's cultural traditions to the next generation. Puerto Rican music and dance were always a vibrant and active part of Ana María 's life. Growing up she was surrounded by elders who kept cultural traditions alive because of nostalgia for home. She looked forward to weddings, baptisms and birthday parties where family and friends would bring congas, bongos, guiros, and maracas, and she would dance to the rhythms of Puerto Rico all night long. As a young child, Ana María enjoyed playing percussion on "latas de galletas" (tins of Export Soda crackers) to the sounds of latin albums she would buy with her own allowance. As an adult, Ana Maria was inspired to bring her rich culture to life in Austin Texas so her baby son could know the joy of her childhood.

Ana María founded Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance in 1997. Over the last 10 years, Ana Maria has become a recognized expert in the mainland US for Puerto Rico's cultural traditions. She regularly returns to La Isla for research, workshops, and mentorships with generous folklore masters such as Modesto Cepeda at the Escuela de Bomba y Plena de Puerto Rico , Joaquin Nieves Caldero of Guateque Ballet Folklorico de Puerto Rico, J. Emanuel Dufrasne-Gonzalez and Nelie Lebron-Robles of Paracumbe, Eric Gonzalez of Gibaro de Puerto Rico, Tata Cepeda of the Escuela de Baile de Bomba Dona Caridad Brenes de Cepeda, and Martin Cacibaopil Veguilla, Cacike of the Concilio Taino Guatu-Ma-cu A Boriken which Ana Mari-á is a proud member of.

In addition to her ongoing training by Puerto Rican masters, Ana María has studied a variety of dance forms in New York and Austin, including classical ballet under Arletta Howard-Logan and Mexican folkloric dance under Roy Lozano, Chuy Chacon, Raymundo Guzman, and Jaime Guerrero (Monterrey, MX). Ana María Ahas studied piano formally since childhood, is self-taught on guitar, and now adds barriles, panderos, and cuatro to the list of instruments she loves to play. Her past credits include performances on the Paramount and Zilker Hillside stages with the Roy Lozano's Ballet Folklórico de Texas professional company (1993-1997) and the Austin Dance Ensemble, and work as a co-choreographer and dancer in Cenzontle music video "La Bruja" (1998). Ana María is honored to have co-directed and shared the stage with Modesto Cepeda and Cimiento de Puerto Rico (2001), Los Pleneros de la 21 (2002), and Guateque de PR (2003), Paracumbe (2004), William Cepeda with AfroBoricua (2005), Gibaro de Puerto Rico (2006) and Tata Cepeda (2007). Ana María is the Founding Director of the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance & Cultural Center, and the director and choreographer of PRFDance's professional-level performing company of dancers and musicians. She enjoys creating original company musicals that tell stories based in Puerto Rico history and cultural traditions, a skill that is maturing under the mentorship of Rupert Reyes, Director of Teatro Vivo. Ana María teaches classes in dance, percussion, music, and Puerto Rican culture to children and adults.

In 2005, Ana Maria was named the Austin YWCA Woman of the Year for Arts. In addition to her artistic credits, Ana María holds a doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. She is a Reseacher at the IBM Research Human Ability & Accessibility Center. Puerto Rican music and dance has always been a very special part of Ana María's life. She is very proud to share the joy and color of her heritage with the people of Austin.