Sounds Converge at Son Jarocho

At first glance (or listen), a casual observer might not see much similarity between Son de Madera and Los Lobos. Son de Madera is a quartet of singers, dancers and instrumentalists from Mexico specializing in the authentic presentation of traditional, folkloric material. Los Lobos, on the other hand, is a Grammy-winning, globe-trotting band from East Los Angeles known for its sophisticated and highly original take on rock music.

What brings these two bands together is their shared love of son jarocho, a style of traditional music from the Mexican state of Veracruz that blends European, African and indigenous influences into a distinctive string-based music that was disseminated throughout Mexico (and beyond) by radio, records and movies in the 1930s and 1940s. The most famous example of the son jarocho sound is “La Bamba.”

Founded in 1992 and based in Xalapa, Veracruz, Son de Madera is one of the leading bands in the ongoing revitalization of son jarocho. The band's most recent album Son de Mi Tierra, released earlier this year by Smithsonian Folkways, showcases the updated version of son jarocho that has earned the band critical acclaim for bringing the style “into the present, making it sound fresh, modern and fully its own” (Los Angeles Times).

Son jarocho has been a vital part of the Los Lobos sound from the start. The band-—then a quartet of David Hidalgo, Cesar Rojas, Louie Perez and Conrad Lozano—-recorded the son jarocho songs “El Canelo,” “La Iguana” and “Maria Chuchena” on its debut album, Del Este de Los Angeles (Just Another Band from East L.A.) and that infectious son jarocho sound has popped up on subsequent Los Lobos albums as well, especially La Pistola y El Corazon, Acoustic En Vivo and Papa's Dream.

And who can forget “La Bamba,” which Los Lobos took to the top of the charts in 1987, part of the soundtrack album from the Ritchie Valens biopic of the same name. Los Lobos performed the music for the film, including a memorable on-screen snippet of the band playing a very traditional Veracruz-style version of the iconic son jarocho standard.

Son jarocho was traditionally played on three primary instruments: the arpa jarocha, a large wooden harp with 32-36 strings; the guitarra de son (also known as a requinto jarocho or javalina, pictured here), a four-stringed instrument that looks like a small guitar and is used to pick out melody notes; and the jarana, a descendant of the Spanish Baroque guitar, with between eight and 12 strings arranged in five courses, and strummed to provide a chordal and rhythmic base for the song.

The guitarra de son has largely replaced the harp as the primary lead melody instrument in most modern ensembles. Other instruments that are sometimes used to augment the sound include the violin; 6-string Spanish guitar; guitarrón, an acoustic bass guitar more often found in mariachi bands; leon or leona, a large-body baritone requinto; and jaranas of varying sizes.


Sample both bands' styles of son jarocho in person this month. On Thursday, November 12, Son de Madera visit the Kennedy Union Ballroom at U.D. and on Thursday, November 19, Los Lobos returns to the Victoria Theatre with a plugged-in rock show