A more appropriate emcee than Mama Cobb could not be found for the Folklorico Latino de Woodland’s 24th Anniversary dance showcase. Aside from the dancers, what a performance she put on. Throughout the course of the evening, she charmed the audience with her stories and insights from her long and storied career.

She spoke sometimes in English, sometimes Spanish and even threw in a few Nahuatel phrases. Nahuatel being the language of the Aztecs. Mama Cobb provided insights into the regional Mexican folk dances, stole a kiss from the feature trick roping cowboy, completed two costume changes, and inspired a new generation of Mexican folk dancers.

As easy as it looked, the audience had no idea about the preparation she made beforehand. At 76 years old, Mrs. Angelbertha Cobb is a show woman to the very end. She arrived at the Woodland Opera House early in the day to observe the dress rehearsal for the show. She made mental notes as to what she would say for the evening’s program.

To the Native American Indians who come to pay their respect, she is ‘Mama Cobb.’ Her colorful vocation encompasses 60-plus years of teaching Mexican and Aztec dance. Mama Cobb began teaching folkdance as a teenager. She did a brief stint as a radio host in her native Mexico, appeared in several Mexican movies, not to mention her work as a bounty hunter for Sacramento bail bonds legend Leonard Padilla. Aside from her life adventures, somewhere, she found time to give birth to 19 children.

Mama Cobb’s mind is as sharp and quick as ever. Her body may have been slowed down by the ravages of age. But that doesn’t stop her from barreling ahead in full education mode. Mama Cobb’s spring calendar is already getting full. Requests for her speaking engagements come from as far as New Mexico. During February and March, she will travel to Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose. She will be back home on March 19th for a presentation at Sacramento’s Southside Park. Throughout the Northern California Mexican folk dance community, she is known as the ‘Godmother of Mexican folk dance.’ Mama Cobb has taught Mexican and Aztec folkdance to literally thousands of children, teenagers and adults in the Sacramento area. Some of the people who were her students make up a who’s who of accomplished Sacramento community leaders, activists, artists and dance folkloristas. They include Tim Quintero, Juanishi Orosco, the late Bishop Gallegos, Yolanda Colosio, Sylvia Romero, Maria Luisa Colmenarez-Garcia and Gloria Rodriguez.

“I believe that her value has been re-established in the last couple of years,” said Paul Cobb, her youngest son. “Recently, she did the Folklorico Latino presentation. She also spoke to Twin Rivers District school children at the Crest Theater on behalf of the Instituto Mazatlan Bellas Arts. She explained the traditions of the Mexican Christmas Posadas and Dias de los Muertos. Before that, she was a guest speaker at the Latino Youth Leadership Conference held at Sacramento State University.”

Today, her grandchildren carry on the Mexican & Aztec folk dance tradition. Richard, Jonah, Dominic and Paul Junior have all danced with the Folklorico Latino de Woodland. Paul Junior also dances with Folklorico Aztlan de Sacramento. This troupe was established in 2004 by Virginia Gray. His father, Paul, is currently assistant director. His mother, Patty, is on the board of directors. His uncle, Eddie, is a special instructor. The matriarch, Mama Cobb, is fittingly enough the cultural advisor. So the project has come full circle. Folklorico Aztlan has truly becoming a family affair.

Even the seemingly indestructible Mama Cobb can’t escape Father Time. Physically, she has definitely slowed down. Still that lightening wit is as sharp as ever. Her quips are expertly timed and intended specifically to ruffle the feathers and open the minds of the more conventional minded folks. Still, she has mellowed in her later years. And she has reflected upon her influence on the latest generation of folk dancers.

Her living room is packed full of family and performance photos, costumes, indigenous artifacts and artwork. During the past several years, Mama Cobb has been parceling out these prized costumes from her extensive wardrobe to the various folk dance groups that come to obtain information and pay homage to this respected elder. Indigenous dancers from all over the state visit her to obtain information on culture, customs and rituals to maintain the Aztec traditions.

“It is better that the dancers can use them for their presentations,” said Mama Cobb. “I hope that the costumes will help motivate them for their shows. This helps the new groups just getting started. Some of the material is old. Some need repair. But if I keep them here, they just will gather dust. I would rather they be worn at performances and ceremonies. I would rather that audiences can see and appreciate them.”

Mama Cobb is a walking, living, breathing history book. Her breath, her very existence is to spread the culture and knowledge of Aztec and Mexican folk dance. She has always been the epitome of the strong, independent woman. The Citrus Heights house that she’s been living in for the past five years, she obtained that on her own. She didn’t ask for help from any of her children. Mama Cob was born in Puebla, Mexico in the Eastern Sierra Madre Mountains. A harsh country not wanted by the ranchers or farmers. An unforgiving land left to the indigenous peoples to eke out a living. Mrs. Cobb is a full-blooded Aztec Indian. She speaks three languages: Spanish, English and Nahuatl. And she will tell you that in her native state, the exploitation of the indigenous people goes on to this day. As a child she studied the local folkdances. A gifted dancer, her family sent her to Mexico City to study. In her teens, she became a folk dance instructor herself. She hosted a radio show and made appearances in Mexican movies. She came to the United States in 1963. At 15, she fell in love with U.S. serviceman, Earl Cobb, a half-breed Comanche. A man who’s first job was killing coyotes for a dollar a tail. By the time she was 19, she bore three sets of twins.

In the early 1960s, she visited the Sacramento area and fell in love with the local history and the people. The Cobb family settled into the midtown area. Shortly afterwards, Earl passed away. She’s been married and widowed twice and a mother of 19 children. Nine with her first husband Earl Cobb. Ten with her second, Baltazar Valdivia, who also passed away. Alone, with a platoon of children to support, she held down multiple jobs. She somehow was always able to make ends meet. Incredibly somehow, she squeezed in the time to found Ballet Quetzalcoatlan Aztec troupe. Later, she created Folklore de Mexicano de Angelbertha Cobb. In all likelihood, the first Mexican folk dance troupe in Sacramento. The troupe performed at events such as the California State Fair, the Camellia Dance Festival, American Indian ceremonies, schools and festivals.

“Senora Cobb has truly been an inspiration and role model to our community,” said Gloria Torres, director for the Sacramento Buena Vista Child Development Center. “When I first met her 35 years ago, she was teaching baila de folklorico along with the traditional Azteca Danza. She inspired so many to continue her legacy. In Sacramento now, we have several Azteca Danza groups that do the traditional ceremonies because of her. She taught me about Dia de los Muertos, Fiesta de Maiz, and Fiesta de Colores. As a young teacher growing up, I never learned this in the classroom. Therefore it was truly a blessing when I met her and learn her ways. When you meet this incredible woman, she will always give you advice, be upfront with you, and lead you onto a good path. Her favorite saying is ‘it is my time now to pass what I have been taught to the next generation.’ She tells us, someday she will be gone, and it is up to all of us to carry on."

Guy is the only one of Mama Cobb’s brood that has not left the nest. In his mid-forties, he is the most delicate of her children. He deals with a severe form of schizophrenia. She ensures that Guy is always taken care of and safe. She will not entertain the thought of having him placed into a mental facility. She does not consider this a burden. It is just part of her motherly duty.

“Wherever she goes, she always has Guy by her side,” said Torres. “She encourages Guy to participate in all the activities wherever she is at. She encourages him to continue his hand beading craft that he loves so much. Guy is so lucky to have a mother like Mrs. Cobb.”

Her career as a dancer, actress and folkdance instructor is well documented. Her resume includes the title -- bounty hunter. For about 15 years on and off, Mama Cobb worked for Leonard Padilla, the well known Sacramento bail bondsman and local political gadfly.

In the 1970’s, Mrs. Cobb’s troupe and a Los Angeles-based group performed in the White House for President Carter. During that same decade, she was one of the original founders for the Comité Patriótico de Mexico de California, under the direction of Zenido Acosta, the Mexican counsel at the time. To this day, Mrs. Cobb is still an active member of the Comité. While in her fifties, Cobb attended what is now known as the California State University, Sacramento. She delighted in challenging her professors’ accounts of Mexican and American Indian history. In 1981, she won an award as the “Hispanic Woman of the Year.” In the late 1990s, she taught cultural history at DQU University and at UC Davis. Just a four years ago, she was as an instructor for Cuahuitle yo Quetzalcoatle Tonatiuh College (CQT) College located on Del Paso Boulevard in Sacramento. She taught a course called “Latino Children and Families." But health issues forced her to give up that position.

Mama Cobb continues on her quest to teach and inspire those around her. Torres recalls a recent presentation when she came to mid-town Sacramento’s Buena Vista Child Development Center. Once again, in full education mode, she sang songs, told her stories, and drummed with the children.

“Senora Cobb is truly my inspiration to teach and to pass on what I have learned from her to my teachers, my family and my children,” said Torres. “I admire her for being such a good mother. It is so important for us to not let this wonderful opportunity go by and when we have the chance to talk to her, spend time with her and learn from her. Because life is too short and we must really embrace her and tell this beautiful person how much we love her and how much she means to us. She has done so on behalf of our community. So Mrs. Cobb, I love you and I thank you for being my friend, my role model, and my mentor.”

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