Answer: where a particular dance comes from. For many non-Mexicans, the dances of the Jalisco region—with their mariachi music, women in braids, and colorful, ribboned skirts—are their first exposure to the style. Jalisco is also the birthplace of Mexico's national dance, the jarabe tapatio (hat dance). In the 1920s, Mendoza-Garcia explains, the Mexican government wanted to unify the nation and began teaching the jarabe tapatio in public schools across the country. It was even performed by Anna Pavlova, who choreographed a version of it in pointe shoes during an international tour, and helped it become known on the world stage. The fandango, from Veracruz, is another popular dance, known for its lightning-fast footwork. In it, couples take turns dancing on a wooden platform called a "tarima."