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Marquez was born in Mexico City to a family of artists. Her mother was a professional folk dancer with Mexico’s national fine arts school, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, and her father was a traditional musician. When Marquez and her sisters were very young, their mother taught them traditional folk dances. Marquez danced throughout her childhood and eventually went onto study classical ballet. She returned to folk dance years later, when she went to Paris, France for graduate school. There she became the student of a professional Mexican folk dancer who was with the Mexican Consulate. In 2003, Marquez settled in Portland, where she founded Mexican folkloric dance ensemble Ballet Papalotl; papalotl is the Mayan word for butterfly. Under Dr. Kenya Marquez’s direction, the group, whose members dress in the costume traditional to each dance or state, performs an array of authentic Mexican folk dances. The troupe’s repertoire includes the well-known Jalisco dance, which features brightly colored dresses and quick, whiplash motions, as well as more obscure dances like the Guerrero or Nayarit, which derive from Mexico’s indigenous cultures. The Nuevo Leon dance integrates European polka traditions into folk dance, while the Veracruz dance includes consumes representative of the Afro-Caribbean influence in Mexican culture. According to Marquez, “Through learning Mexican folk dance, we not only remember the history of the Mexican people but we also carry on the values and traditions of our ancestors.” Ballet Papalotl’s missions is to instill in every dancer the discipline, confidence, and cultural pride that is essential for their development, to maintain authentic Mexican folk dance standards of excellence, and to enrich Portland through intercultural exchange. The group performs for private and public events, including the annual Rose Festival, where it has earned several Junior Festival awards for Best Costumes and Dance Troupe.