A Very Busy Week

What a week it has been for Radio Jarocho. On Monday, we went to Lincoln Center to witness one of the best collaborations we’ve ever seen. Our friends from Tambembe Ensamble Continuo accompanied “baroque music superstar” Jordi Savall and his ensembles La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI in his tour “Folías Criollas: Musical Dialogue from Old Spain, the Mexican Baroque, and the Living Huasteca and Jarocho Traditions." Savall's ensembles were fantastic, but it is undeniable that Tambembe stole the night. Particularly dazzling were the performances of Patricio Hidalgo and Donají Esparza. Once more, Patricio showed us how son jarocho is made: effortlessly. Always calmed, his thundering voice filled the hall with ease. One could say that Patricio doesn't play the jarana, but that he caresses it, as if petting a small creature. He not only sang his verses of Los Chiles Verdes, El Fandanguito and María Chuchena with poise and elegance, but he also improvised for El Pajarillo, a traditional son llanero, showing the audience the creativity, wittiness and sharp-mindedness that son jarocho requires.

Donají, on her part, demonstrated once more why she’s considered one of the best son jarocho bailadoras in the country. She began by dancing basic jarocho zapateado for Los Negritos, to later show complex step combinations emanating from the jarocho, flamenco and gypsy traditions. Her style shows that the zapateado can be as unique and sophisticated in son jarocho, as the versada and music composition have become. Indeed, Donají’s rebozo wrapped her in a loving embrace with every turn, while her feet made step patterns that went from the basic café con pan to complex syncopated rhythms. All members of Tambembe offered inspiring performances. Enrique Barona played the leona and sang masterfully; he also danced La Iguana, making the audience roar. Leopoldo Novoa handled the marimbol in a way that shows that you don't need to have been born in Mexico to become one of the best son jarocho performers. Ada Coronel sang beautifully, proving why another one of her projects, Yolotecuani, has acquired considerable fame among folk-music connoisseurs in Mexico and abroad. Eloy Cruz played the vihuela and leona, providing us with living proof that European baroque music and traditional son from Mexico are intimately connected. It was truly a fantastic show that was also reviewed by The New York Times. Way to go Tambembe Ensamble Continuo!

Monday night didn’t end with our friends’ performance. We stayed at Alice Tully Hall for the post-show cocktail party, where we had a chance to chat with many members of the different ensambles and with Jordi Savall himself. Check out the photos!

After that, we took Patricio out to dinner around the neighborhood and we had the opportunity to spend time with him and chat about Radio Jarocho’s projects and Patricio’s new sones. He also gave us some tips for writing our own verses. For example, we talked about the composition and performance of décimas and he passed on advice that he received from a Cuban decimero:

Son los versos al momento,

Consonantes o totales

Si tienen desde el acento

Todas las letras iguales.

Son los versos al momento,

Asonantes o parciales,

Cuando a partir del acento

Sólo riman las vocales.

So now you know, décima-writers, how to make a good one. Once more, Patricio’s humbleness, modesty and talent awed the members of Radio Jarocho. We felt ever more proud to be his friends, his son jarocho “godchildren” and his colleagues.

Something else we discussed with Patricio was our desire to make “Bemba y Tablao” the first single of our new album. As you all now, “Bemba” was composed by Patricio and arranged by Radio Jarocho and has become one of our staple songs onstage. People really enjoy it, so it only seems natural that we choose it as our single. Patricio’s blessing on this matter made us more eager to begin recording in the summer. There’s also the possibility of doing one more of his songs, so stay tuned for news on that! Check our video of Bemba y Tablao performed at Jalopy Theater last Friday! Also check out Café Café and Malhaya el Sueño...

But there's more! On Tuesday, Julia traveled to Austin, TX to perform at SXSW with our friends David Wax Museum. For that purpose, Julia built a small tarima that she took with her on the plane and which sounds incredibly, regardless of its size. DWM’s shows were fantastic. Dave, Suz, Greg and Ben gave wonderful performances, making the crowd roar. The first show, at The Stage on Sixth, was Paste Magazine’s event and was very well attended. Julia danced to The Persimmon Tree, Colás and Yes, María, Yes. The second performance was at famous Momo’s as part of “All Music is World Music,” organized by PRI's "The World" Marco Werman. DWM jumped offstage and Julia followed for Colás, Carpenter Bird and Yes, María, Yes, which the audience enjoyed enormously. Watch a video of us in the middle of the crowd doing Carpenter Bird. She also danced to Unfruitful, one of DWM's songs that is inspired more on American folk than on son jarocho; although it was the first time she joined them for that particular tune, she showed that it is certainly possible for a son jarocho bailadora to participate in most folk-music genres. Congrats to David Wax Museum for all their successes and good luck in all that’s coming next!

Friday evening, Radio Jarocho performed at Jalopy Theater & School of Music. Following a wonderful show by Beatbox Guitar, with dancer Marisol Cabrera, we played our new material, plus one new song written by Gabriel and Julia called “La tristeza.” The crowd enjoyed the performance and the fandango that followed.

As you see, we are keeping ourselves busy these days. Stay tuned for more Radio Jarocho news and projects. Undoubtedly, 2011 will be the year of the urban soneros. Join us in the adventure.

This blog post can’t be dedicated to anyone else but to Tambembe Ensamble Continuo. We appreciate their friendship, their mentorship and their support. We are proud fans of their work and hope they come back to New York in the near future. Check out their video of La Petenera here.

Come see us at Zebulon Café Concert next Thursday or to Terraza Café on Saturday, March 26. You’ll have a wonderful time… Guaranteed.