Son Jarocho: What La Bamba Was Before Richie Valens
Written by Kyle on Saturday, March 01, 2008 in Mexico
Feelin' happy
Feelin' happy
If you woke up this morning and wanted to learn more about the music of Mexico, then today is your lucky day. By good fortune, Bessie and I ended up in a bar / brewery in San Cristobal and along came 4 women who played and introduced us to the Son Jarocho style of music.
Basically, Son Jarocho is a style of music that is a fusion of indegenous, spanish, and african music. The africans tended to do the drumming, which was usually done with a simple wooden box and is now done by flamenco-esque dancing. The guitars (actually they're called jaranas) are small so that they could easily be hidden underneath the dresses and clothing of the workers in the field, as the plantation owners wanted nothing to do with its employees having fun. They are made to be louder and more percussive than a normal guitar, though, and come in various sizes to get difference tambers.
The lyrics are usually improvised are typically about non-family friendly topics (such as cattle breeding), although, truthfully, my Spanish is not good enough to pick out exactly what all the songs are about. Judging by the titles of the songs we heard, it sounds like the ladies kept it clean, although I could be completely wrong.
If you think that you've never heard Son Jarocho music before, then you're wrong, or you grew up in a cave. La Bamba is actually a Son Jarocho song that was adopted and changed to rock by Richie Valens. While the traditional form doesn't sound much like the Richie Valens version, all of the songs we heard were equally as catchy.
In any case, here is some of the action that we got on video:
If you want to hear a higher quality recording of some Son Jarocho music, here's a song called El Son Sin Fin by Los Cojolitos:
Comments on "Son Jarocho: What La Bamba Was Before Richie Valens"
We didn't get La Bomba on video, unfortunately, because they did play it. It doesn't sound too much like the RIchie Valens one, though, and if we didn't hear them talk about it before playing it, we might not have picked it out.
Also, just to be clear, I only made the first video. The second video was done by someone way more professional than me. If I could make the second video, I would truly have a second career!
Thanks for the clarification! But NOW that you've done The Water Park Scene and have been exposed to getting-it-together-Son Jarocho-enhancement, your dabbling could become a masterpiece! Go, Kyle! -p.s.or did someone else do the water park?
The bottom video above wasn't taken by us, Kyle found the video online.
I am proud to say I'm the creator of the water park video. I like exciting videos, which you'll see a bit more of... (ominious foreshadowing)
ya, ya... music is great... but the burning question I have is... Have you found El Guapo yet and does he have a plethora of pinatas? :)
El Guapo: "Jefe, do you even know what a plethora is?"
Jefe: "No, El Guapo"
El Guapo: "Then how do you know there is a plethora of pinatas if you don't know what a plethora is?!!"
Awesome.
Ah music to stir the sole of your heal>>>ing foot! Thanks for the wonderful evening. Feels like we are there with you and loving the experience! Peace to you both.
haaaa haaaa! His foot is a healing, and I'm sure this music helped.
I think us finding the first brewery of the trip helped Kyle from the inside too... I mean we love plain Jane Mexican beers and all, but they all start to taste the same. Chicago's beer variety spoiled us both.
Wonderful contrast between the joy of the music and visual experiences that do not necessarily reflect the same lightness. The smaller instruments are similar to ukeleles....amazing the amount of sound they can produce. Glad you are enjoying all aspects of your journey.
WOW! Thanks for the cultural treat! The girls have such a wonderfully simple, authentic sound. A natural musical expression from the heart.The "La Bomba" quality was immediately recognizable in their flip-side song (very clever visual!!). The Son Jarocho music instantly brings to mind flamenco dancers - then sure enough! the sound of pounding feet! then the singing layering the sounds! And your visual, rhythmic gymnastics were GREAT!! They REALLY added to the Energy and Excitement of the music! And the horse rides? Pure genius! I think you had fun! ....and it shows! Way to go, Kyle! (Is career #2 evolving behind that new camera?!)
by Mumsie at March 02, 2008 09:24 PM