Son Jarocho

Son jarocho is the music of the Sotavento - the coastal plain of southern Veracruz - and it grew from the same three-continent mix as the region itself: Spanish string forms, African rhythmic sensibility, indigenous elements. The ensemble is built on jaranas, small strummed guitars in several sizes, plus the requinto played with a plectrum of horn, harp in some styles, quijada - a donkey jawbone rattled and scraped - and the pandero. Its natural home is not the stage but the fandango: a community gathering around a tarima, a wooden platform placed over the ground for resonance, where couples take turns dancing zapateado on it while musicians circle and singers trade improvised verses through the night, "La Bamba" among the sones being a wedding piece long before it was a hit record. The tradition nearly faded mid-century and was revived from the 1970s by musicians and communities who took it back to the villages. Tlacotalpan's Candelaria festival each February is the great annual gathering; workshops across the region teach visitors the jarana's basic strums.

What you actually see

• The jarana ensemble - small guitars, requinto and jawbone.
• The tarima - the wooden platform danced on for percussion.
• The versada - improvised verses traded between singers.
• The all-night fandango - the community form of the music.

When to go

Tlacotalpan's Candelaria in early February for the largest gathering; village fandangos happen year-round, usually announced locally and by word of mouth.

Honest expectations

A fandango is a participatory community event, not a concert - stand back until invited, and expect it to run until dawn. Recording without asking is poor form. Festival versions are more accessible but less intimate.

Nearby

Tlacotalpan's painted riverfront, Santiago Tuxtla and the Los Tuxtlas lakes are the region's other stops.