The historic city of Veracruz, facing the Gulf of Mexico, is so proud of its musical heritage that every hour on the hour, the bells in the clock tower in the central plaza play "La Bamba."
asserted
bells → face → Bamba
The original "La Bamba" has been played in this sultry, moldering port city for centuries.
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Bamba → play → centuries
"It's our hymn," said one longtime musician.
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musician → say → ?
"La Bamba" is the most famous song of a regional genre called son jarocho, which means the music of Veracruz.
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which → call → Veracruz
It is played at joyous community fiestas called fandangos that have nothing to do with the online movie-streaming service.
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that → play → service
The fandango emerged from the multiethnic population that evolved along the Gulf Coast after conquistador Hernán Cortés dropped anchor and established Veracruz as Mexico's first port in the early 1500s.
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Cortés → emerge → 1500s
While fandangos — where folks gather to play their instruments, sing and dance — are more than 300 years old, their popularity is now spreading around the world.
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popularity → gather → world
But if you want to experience the real thing, go to Veracruz.
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you → want → Veracruz
The villainous coastal heat of the day has yet to subside.
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heat → have → day
A couple dances on a wooden platform, the woman in a floral dress that fans out when she pounds her heels, the man in a traditional jarocho straw hat and a tropical shirt that's drenched with sweat.
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that → dance → sweat
Off to the side, a guy in a black T-shirt and shades is playing a quijada, the jawbone of a donkey, by scraping the teeth and slapping the mandible to make them rattle.
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them → play → mandible
People are swilling ice-cold Mexican beer and eating tamales wrapped in banana leaves.
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People → swill → leaves
As the night wears on audience members join the trio of musicians so that it becomes a giant jam session.
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it → wear → musicians
They are playing a diminutive, eight-string guitar native to the region called a jarana.
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They → play → region
Pretty soon, La Bamba has two dozen jaraneros up there strumming, and the three-chord song goes on—trance-like—for 15 minutes.
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song → have → minutes
"Para bailar La Bamba, Para bailar La Bamba se necesita una poca de gracia, Un poca de gracia y otra cosita y arriba y arriba…"
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Bamba → necesita → gracia
"Fifteen minutes is nothing," said Tacho Utrera, a Grammy-winning jarocho musician and renowned instrument maker.
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Utrera → say → ?
"En Tlacotalpan, where they have the biggest fandangos I've ever seen, you can have 80 musicians.
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you → have → musicians
La Bamba and the dancing can go on for an hour.
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Bamba → go → hour
You play and play and the dancers keep changing and changing, and it's interminable!
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it → play → ?
Time was in the 60s and 70s, fandangos and son jarocho had fallen out favor.
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fandangos → fall → favor
It was considered low-brow music—think of the roots of the delta blues in Mississippi juke joints.
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It → consider → joints
"There were still fandangos but they were very small family affairs," said Gilberto Gutierrez, one of the giants of son jarocho and a founding member of the seminal band, Mono Blanco.
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Gutierrez → be → band
"When they spoke of son jarocho they said it was the music of drunken people…
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it → speak → people
We hung up our instruments or left for Mexico City to look for gigs."
Today, as Mexico and cities around the world reach for authenticity, originality and soul, son jarocho is thriving.
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jarocho → hang → authenticity
The Saturday night fandango is put on monthly in the old city of Veracruz by the caSon Cultural Center, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.
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which → put → anniversary
"Fandangos happen because there's a community around the musicians, dancers, singers, and the cooks who bring the food," Gutierrez said.
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Gutierrez → happen → food
"Humanity needs this coming together.
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Humanity → need → coming
We all need to belong to something.
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We → need → something
And I believe that's why fandangos have spread far and wide.
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fandangos → believe → ?
Today, you can hear son jarocho in Mexico City, Argentina, Spain, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Tokyo, Canada, and in US cities with big Latino populations like Los Angeles and New York.
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you → hear → Angeles
It is performance and also percussion, to keep the string players in rhythm.
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It → keep → rhythm
The wooden platform is called a taríma.
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platform → call → ?
"To step onto a taríma is an act of respect and skill — that you know how to dance," said Ada Veronica, a high school teacher from Puebla who's been dancing for 20 years.
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who → step → years
"You shouldn't get up there if you don't know what you're doing."
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you → get → what
The classes in jarocho music and dance offered at El caSon fill up quickly.
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classes → offer → caSon
While young Mexicans embrace genre-bending music like reggaeton and corridos tumbados, they're also flocking to fandangos.
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they → embrace → fandangos
"You simply feel it, you live it," said Paloma Rizo, a 28-year-old teacher, who took up the jarana earlier this year.
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who → feel → jarana
She was at the fandango playing her heart out.
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She → play → heart
"Even if people don't know what a fandango is," she continued, "they want to be part of it.
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they → know → it
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
