The Urban Soneros

It’s time for a new edition of Radio Jarocho’s blog! We’ve had a couple of very busy weeks; going to the radio show Tómala Barbón, putting together new material, planning our gigs at Jalopy, Zebulon and Terraza, and getting ready to start recording in a couple of months.

The show with the guys of Tómala Barbón was absolutely fantastic. cHompis and Abe were wonderful hosts, making us feel right at home from the start. As they said, we met only a few weeks ago, but it feels like we’ve known each other for years. We talked about bands that we like, and played some popular tunes by Los Pájaros del Alba, Los Parientes de Playa Vicente, Zacamandú, Los Utrera and Son Candela. We talked about what it means to be an urban sonero and we all agreed that Radio Jarocho has its own particular rhythm and style that originates from the environment in which we live. We would all love to open our windows in the morning and see a water stream, grassland, birds or cattle, like many son jarocho musicians do in Veracruz. However, our reality is very different, since we live among skyscrapers, industries and asphalt roads. It makes us proud to be producing material that responds to a unique reality and not to an imitation of a world to which we no longer belong. At Tómala Barbón we also discussed the affection and respect we have for older soneros, and how much we’ve appreciated their help and support. People like Patricio Hidalgo, for example, have been a true inspiration for all of us. This is very clearly reflected in our style and compositions. We play “Bemba y tablao,” written by Patricio, with all the passion and intensity that such song demands.

Being an urban sonero has its advantages, but can also be a handicap. On the one hand, living in New York and having all the communication advances that easy access to the internet provides, we can gather a bigger following, make our material known to wider audiences and obtain better remuneration for our efforts than many of our colleagues in Mexico. We can also obtain inspiration from the variety of cultures, rhtythms and customs that a cosmopolitan city like New York can offer. However, being almost the sole group that plays this kind of music in the East Coast, our dialogue with the jarocho community of Veracruz is more limited than it would be if we were in Mexico. We have gotten very good at staying updated with the latest son jarocho news and recordings, though we don’t get to experience the tradition first hand. Radio Jarocho, however, is proudly helping to create a sonero tradition in New York. Always based on what we have learned from our Veracruzan fellow jaraneros, requinteros, leoneros and bailadoras, and with all the respect the son jarocho community and the fandango deserve.

Indeed, playing son jarocho in New York can be challenging, but can also be incredibly rewarding. Our friends at Tómala Barbón made us feel that our task is well justified and gave us further reasons to keep playing, writing our material and making efforts to offer the best fandango experience we can provide. Thank you, chavos!

So, we are now getting ready for a series of gigs that promise to be absolutely fantastic. Expect to hear two more new sones written by Gabriel and arranged by all of Radio Jarocho. Come to Jalopy, Zebulon or Terraza in March!

Radio Jarocho at Jalopy Theater & School of Music, March 18. The fabulous Beatbox Guitar will be playing too!

Radio Jarocho at Zebulon Cafe Concert, together with Tik Tok and Feral Foster on March 24.

Radio Jarocho at Terraza. Come to the monthly fandango on March 26!

All shows start promptly at 10:30.

This time, we'd like to dedicate this blog post to our wonderful friend and performance artist Marisol Cabrera. Marisol has been joining us every Friday at our son jarocho workshops in Brooklyn, bringing her beauty, positive attitude and grace to the class. She's a talented dancer and gifted student. She's also a regular at Radio Jarocho's fandangos. Rock on, Marisol!