I want to acknowledge my daughter,Carmen, for having introduced me to this beautiful event and reawakened my passion for the music I grew up watching my grandmother sing and dance to.
Photos from my experience at this year’s fandango:
This is a son I have written in Spanish. See explanation of the son and translation into English below.
Aqui yo vine a cantar
Bajo esta cerca traídora
Con lagrimas que perforán
Mi alma undida en el mar
La migra no borrara
El amor de mi querida
Intenso como la vida
Sones, cultura, y amor
Las huellas de mi corazón
Raíces empedernidas
.
Veo tu cara en fragmentos
Se me a olvidado tu olor
Mis recuerdos llevan dolor
Es sofocante el lamento
sin tocarte un momento
Esta reja nos separa
Quisiera yo tener alas
Para volar hacia ti
Interrumpir tu sufrir
Pa’que en mis brazos soñaras
.
Mis ojos sufren angustia
por no poderte tocar
Como espinas de un rosal
Que florese rosas mustias
Mi amor no te renuncia
Te toco esta jarana
Con estos versos mi Jiliana
Pa’que te acuerdes de mi
Tu pretendiente colibrí
Cuando tu amor por mi reclama
Son Jarocho is a style of music from Veracruz, Mexico with its origins rooted in Indigenous, African, and Spanish influences. Son is a kind of song, Jarocho is the name given to people and things from the Mexican state of Veracruz. The verses of a Son Jarocho usually follow one of a few metric and rhyming forms. A typical form, called décimas, is a ten line stanza of verses that follow a predictable metric and rhyming pattern. Between or directly before beginning a son, participants in a fandango may verbally recite a décima. Using the décima or similar structure, whether spoken or sung, the speaker may improvise verses. Improvising means making up your own words, melody or rhythm that still fits the piece you are performing. In Son Jarocho, the improvisor (called the pregonero if the lead singer) often refers to something or someone in the community. They may comment on a beautiful woman on the tarima, or poke fun at some other member of the community.
The jarana is a central instrumental component in Son Jarocho. It is a small, guitar-like instrument with 9-10 strings, most of them double. It provides rhythmic and harmonic body to the son.
Fandango, the traditional context of Son Jarocho, as a community celebration, where a great many members of the community gather around a tarima (raised wooden platform used as dance floor with percussive resonance) and participate singing, playing and dancing. As the whole community knows the songs and dances, they take turns singing, dancing and reciting verses, often into the wee hours of the morning.
Translation of verses in English:
I came here to sing
Under this fence of betrayal
With tears piercing
My soul drowning at sea
Border Patrol cannot erase
The love of my dear
Intense as life
Sones , culture, and love
Footprints of my heart
entrenched roots
.
I see your face in fragments
I have forgot your scent
My memories carry pain
I am suffocating in regret
Without touching you for a moment
This fence separates us
I wish I had wings To fly to you
Interrupting your suffering
So that you will dream in my arms
.
My eyes suffer anguish
Without being able to touch you
Like thorns of a rosebush
That blooms wilted roses
My love will not resign
I play this jarana
With these verses my Juliana
So that you’ll remember me
Your hummingbird suitor
When your love demands for me
Beautiful Cristina!