Son Jarocho, El Chuchumbé, y Fandango–Afro-Mexicano Musical Traditions of Veracruz

Mexico is world renowned for its rich cultural diversity, but the Gulf Coastal state of Veracruz boasts an exceptionally complex and layered history that’s matched by few other regions in the country. Home to Mayan civilizations that began thousands of years ago and whose cultures continue to shape Veracruz today, the state’s colonial legacy is as old as encounter: beginning in 1519 with the landing of Hernán Cortés and his followers at what is now the port city of Veracruz. In the wake of the conquest, the region’s wealthy hacendados (landed elites) imported more African slaves than anywhere else in New Spain. The trauma of the trans-Atlantic slave trade failed to eradicate African cultural heritage and traditions, which continued in many forms, but which are especially evident in Veracruz’s food, song, and dance. The musical style of son jarocho (made popular in the United States by Richie Valens’s recording of “La Bamba,” a traditional son jarocho song) developed from such Afro-Mexican traditions, as did the dances of el chuchumbé and the Veracruz style of fandango, both of which are associated with the musical style. This music and dance also relate to the history of cimarron communities in Veracruz–which is to say, run-away slave communities that resisted Spanish domination.