LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles was decked out in white Saturday thanks to the 21st annual Encuentro de Jaraneros de California, a festival that highlights the music and dancing of son jarocho.
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A total of 20 musical groups and folkórico dance groups from California and Veracruz performed for the hundreds in attendance, but the highlight of the event was the fandango, a jam session in which dancers improvised to the sounds of the jaranas and harp. Audience members were invited to take off their shoes and take to the wooden platform, or tarima.
Musician Francisco Gonzalez, who helped organize the evening, said that son jarocho music has been played in the United States since the 1940s.
“Immigrants brought their music across the borders,†he said.
“Son jarocho music, brought originally from the state of Veracruz, is from the colonial period. It’s a mix of African, Spanish and European music and dance traditions. Now we have our own homegrown Chicano groups that have made it part of their culture and tradition and given a little twist to the music and the tradition itself.â€
Beatrice Moreno, who danced folklórico as a child, was there Saturday to watch her 12-year-old daughter, Josybel, perform.
“I wanted to teach her the tradition and culture that we have that our ancestors left us,†she said.
It’s a sentiment Diana Cabral can get behind. The 52-year-old dances with Ballet Folklórico Aztlan de CSUN and Grupo Folklórico Huitzillin, a community-based youth group that she directs.
“The younger, the better,†Cabral said.
“It’s wonderful to see the teeny ones, starting so young, at 3 years old, and hopefully they dance until they are past my age.â€
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1. Carlos Rosario ties his neck scarf. Rosario was the emcee for the festival. (Jill Connelly/For De Los) 2. (L to R) Alyssa Florian and Monserrath Perez of Grupo Folklorico Huitzillin. (Jill Connelly/For De Los) 3. Genesis Duran (left) and Ella Ramirez, of Ballet Folkolórico Cielito Lindo de Simi Valley wait for their turn to perform during the 21st Annual Encuentro De Jaraneros De California. (Jill Connelly/For De Los)
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