Jarocho describes the people and culture of the southern coastal plain of Veracruz, who for more than two centuries have shaped a distinctive regional music. Throughout the colonial era the port of Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico was the country’s main gateway to Spain . Perhaps nowhere in Mexico have these three centuries of oppressive exchange remained as evident as in the folk culture of its southern coastal plain. From the region’s Spanish heritage and a strong presence of African slaves and their descendants came the lively, witty, and picaresque character of the jarochos, the name given to the southern veracruzanos.

Celebrated Jarocho violinist and composer Ernesto Villa-Lobos was born and raised on the Cinco Rincones ranch near the city of Xalapa , an hour’s drive from the port city of Veracruz . He spent his childhood listening to his grandmother, father, and uncles play music for enjoyment after a day’s work, for dancers at a country fandango, or for guests dining in the many coastal seafood restaurants. He took up the violin as a small child and soon learned to play the jarana, the thin-bodied guitar that supplies the rhythmic and harmonic base for the music. Ernesto eventually moved on to specialize in classical violin and composition, and developed his own style of playing, called fast-chatting violin.

Most of Ernesto’s original songs are about illegal immigration to the United States and the living conditions of approximately 5.3 million Mexicans in the U.S (476,000 in New York ).

Bamba-NY (Nuevo Jarocho) is the name of his group, a fusion of traditional styles and contemporary influences inspired by the rural music of Veracruz , the virtuosity of classical music, and the modern grooves of New York City .

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