Genres Archives: Son Jarocho

Quijada

The quijada is a jawbone of a donkey used as a percussion instrument in Mexico and Peru. The musician holds half of the jawbone in one hand and hits the other with a stick, causing the teeth to rattle. The instrument first appeared in Peru among African slaves but became important in both African and indigenous communities. Today it’s still a staple instrument in Afro-Peruvian music, and is essential to Mexico’s son jaorhco

COUNTRY: Mexico, Peru
KEY GENRES: Afro-Peruvian, Son Jaorhco

FEATURED ON: La Guacamaya (AATW: Latin America)

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Son Jarocho (Mexico)

Son Jarocho is a Spanish/Creole/African musical fusion from Mexico’s southern coastal plain area of Veracruz. Son Jarocho musicians gather often in public festive musical and dance parties called fandangos during which all members of the community are welcome to participate in making music.

Instruments particular to the genre include a jarana, a quijada, a requinto, a mariumbula, a harp and a wooden dancing platform known as a tarima that the musicians actually consider a percussion instrument and factor into the arrangement of traditional songs.

Country: Mexico
Language: Spanish
Genre on CD: Son jarocho
Instruments on CD: Jarana, Marimbula, Quijada, Requinto, Tarima

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Marimbula

A marimbula is a Latin/Caribbean percussion instrument that appears to be a cross between a cajon and a mbira (thumb piano). The marimbula has its roots in Africa but first appeared in Latin America in Cuba in the 19th century. Musicians used the thick metal strips that are attached to its wooden front to play bass notes in a developing genre of Afro-Cuban music known as changui. The instrument spread across the region and today appears in genres of music such as Dominican merengue and Mexico’s Son Jarocho.

COUNTRY: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico
KEY GENRES: Changui, Merengue, Son Jarocho
FEATURED ON: La Guacamaya (AATW: Latin America)

Tarima

A tarima is a rectangular wooden platform that doubles as both a stage for dancing and a percussion instrument during a Mexican son jarocho fandango. Son Jarocho dancers wear hard-soled shows in order to make substantial sounds on the tarima when they dance.

COUNTRY: Mexico
KEY GENRES: Son Jarocho
FEATURED ON: La Guacamaya (AATW: Latin America)

Requinto

“Requinto’ is a term used in both Spanish and Portuguese that refers to an instrument that is a smaller version of another instrument. For example, the requinto guitar, which is part of the customary Mexican son jarocho ensemble, is proportionally smaller than a normal guitar. In Puerto Rican plena, “requinto” refers to a small hand drum that has a high enough tone to improvise over the sounds of other instruments.

COUNTRY: Mexico, Puerto Rico
KEY GENRES: : Plena, Son Jarocho

FEATURED ON: La Guacamaya (AATW: Latin America)

Son Jarocho Harp

The Son Jarocho harp (the arpa jarochoa) is a harp that has become one of the main instruments in son jarocho music of Veracruz, Mexico. Musicians pluck the harp’s strings deliberately and often play the music’s melody.

COUNTRY: Mexico
KEY GENRES: Son Jarocho

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Genres Archives: Son Jarocho