Brava! for Women in the Arts, Round Whirled & Yerba Buena Gardens Festival present
3rd Annual San Francisco Son Jarocho Festival
August 14, 16 & 17, 2014
See Lineup & Schedule Below
Son Jarocho is a folkloric music style from the Southern Mexican state of Veracruz This Afro-Mestizo hybrid form blends Spanish, Indigenous Meso-American and African elements into a joyous celebration of Mexican identity. In the last decade this style has seen resurgence as many young people have adopted it and expanded the sonic and rhythmic possibilities that it offers.
This annual festival has become a cornerstone of the emerging Son Jarocho music scene in the San Francisco Bay Area, attracting the top performers in this genre and providing workshops for local musicians to interact with the masters of this music.
This year’s lineup features:
Thursday August 14 12:30 -1:30, Encuentro de Jaraneros at Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Mission & 3rd Street Free
Saturday, August 16 will feature an evening music concert at Brava Theater Center with Joel Cruz Castellanos y Sones de Tuxtla; Andres Flores y Los Hijos de Jose and Alfredo “El Godo” Herrera y Pa’Sumecha.
Sunday, August 17 dance and music workshops will be held at Brava Theater Center from 10am - noon
Sunday, August 17 Community Fandango w/ Pa’ Sumecha at Union Square 2pm - 4pm
For Workshop Information and Class Schedule - Click Here!
Joel Cruz Castellanos y Sones de Tuxla
Joel Cruz is one of the founding members of the Grammy nominated Son Jarocho band, Los Cojolites and has been a key figure in the Veracruz music renaissance in Mexico. He has now begun to explore and recover many of the lost tradition of the Tuxla people of Southern Veracruz. He is virtuoso mulit-instrumentalist and composer who specialized in the Leona, the Veracruz bass instrument.
Andres Flores and Los Hijos de Jose
Andres Flores is a founding member of the legendary Son Jarocho group, Chuchumbe, pioneers in the Son Jarocho movement of the late 1980’sand 1990’s. This group resurrected many of the long dormant traditions and composed new music based on the folkloric themes. He now leads his own band that explores many have the Caribbean and African aspects of the Son Jarocho tradition. He is accompanied y the veteran Mexican music scholar and virtuoso performer, Russell Rodriguez and cumbia/ jarocho rocker, Federico “Lico” Zuniga, who have both played in many important Mexican music fusion bands and recordings.
Alfredo “El Godo” Herrera y Pa’ Sumecha
Pa’ Sumecha was founded by Alfredo “ El Godo” Herrera, a virtuoso and innovator on the tradition Veracruz jarana and quijada, a mule’s jaw used as a percussion instrument. El Godo played wry ensemble, Son de Madera and has created a unique sound in the Son Jarocho tradition. The poetry of Pa’ Sumecha explores the issues of migration, globalization and social issues that affect contemporary Mexican society. El Godo is joined by Los Cojolites’ marimbol player, Jacob Hernandez, and the jarana and zapateo of Alejandra Machado.