The Mexican shuffle started off, not as a dance, but as a song. The instrumental tune by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass debuted in 1964 as the background music to a television commercial for Clark's Teaberry chewing gum. The song, which brought fame to Alpert and the rest of his band, was also featured on the bands second album, "South of the Border."
The basic Mexican Shuffle steps are done in eight-counts, and include quick steps on the and-count in each count of eight. These steps include quick steps in a back-and-forth motion, as well as pi-vetting on the ball of one foot for quick direction changes.
The Mexican Shuffle song has been choreographed to by several dance choreographers since the song first appeared on the scene in the 1960s. One of the most notable choreographers to get a hold of the Mexican Shuffle dance was Bob Fosse, who's trio of dancers wore cowboy hats and smoked cigarettes onstage while dancing to the song during a Broadway performance.
In addition to being a solo dance, the Mexican Shuffle can also be danced ballroom-style between two people. The partner-style shuffle resembles the cha-cha with it's quick footwork, but takes on the look and feel of east coast swing dancing with it's turns and direction changes.
In recent years the Mexican shuffle has transformed itself into a style of house dance. This variation of the dance is done solo, and consists of fast gliding footwork and quick changes in direction. With the fast flow of the footwork, the modern take on the Mexican shuffle looks more like the Moonwalk and less like the steps that meant to be put to the Herb Alpert song from 1964.