La Mezcla, a dance program from Mexico, showcases a mix of cultural traditions on stage at CSUMB.

The click-clack staccato of tap dance is more than just ambient sound. It’s feeling, rhythm and identity that reveals itself every time feet of a dancer clash with the floor and blend with the music.

Through tap, Afro Caribbean rhythms and Son Jarocho – a folklóric dance from Veracruz, Mexico – La Mezcla, a San Francisco-based dance and music ensemble, performs “Rhythm of Resistance.” The show features dancers and musicians exploring rhythms from the African Diaspora. The program contains excerpts from La Mezcla’s many productions, including Ghostly Labor, which explores the story and economy of work on the U.S.-Mexico border. The performance is a mix of dances, rhythms and cultural traditions, a musical crescendo of movement in which dancers begin with traditional steps until they make it their own.

Tap, Afro Caribbean rhythms and Son Jarocho all integrate foot percussion. They also are a form of resistance and identity. “These dance forms came out of communities and populations using their percussive and cultural rhythms to stand up for themselves, to take up space,” explains Vanessa Sanchez, La Mezcla founder, choreographer and performer. “We’re continuing the tradition of that through these dance forms in this production.”

Sanchez says it goes beyond music and movement. It’s about connecting people with their roots and “using it as a platform to look at the history of where our traditions and our culture comes from.”

Besides music and dance, the event, cohosted by CSUMB and Palenke Arts, also showcases a short film from John Jota Leaños, an interdisciplinary artist from Pomona. Titled Convivencia, it’s a tribute to immigrant female domestic workers. Juan Sánchez, Palenke’s executive director, says the program is about sharing and learning from other views. “We’re transforming our community through the arts,” Sánchez says. “And I think transforming perceptions using this platform is incredibly, incredibly powerful.”

Sánchez adds it is important to honor the stories of minorities, immigrants and the people who are behind so-called invisible labor. “Through culture, through stories, through music, through dance, we can resist,” he says.

RHYTHM OF RESISTANCE BY LA MEZCLA is performed 7-8:30pm Saturday, March 21. CSU Monterey Bay World Theater, 5260 6th Ave., Seaside. Free. (831) 582-4580, lamezclasf.net