The group members learned to play jarocho music in their native California and perfected their skills under the guidance of master musicians in Mexico City and Veracruz, including Lino Chávez, Mario Barradas, Nicolás Sosa, among others.  Moreover, Conjunto Hueyapan has performed at top artistic events and venues around the world, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, the “Americanos Concert” at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Center for World Music in New York City, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center, the Filene Center of Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia, the late President Reagan’s 1985 Inaugural Ball, the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theatre in Hollywood, Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, Teatro de la Ciudad de La Paz, Baja California, the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, the “Encuentro de Jaraneros” in Tlacotlalpan, Veracruz, the “Encuentro de Huapangueros” in Amatlán, Veracruz, the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, the Festival of American Folklife in Washington, DC, the Performing Arts Center of the University of Texas at Austin, Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, The Universal Amphitheater, as well as countless other venues and television programs throughout Mexico and the United States. In addition, individual members have been guest performers in concert tours or CD recordings by Linda Ronstadt, Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Mariachi Sol de México de José Hernández,  Ixya Herrera, Los Lobos, British vocalist Thea Gilmore, and the rock-en español group, Jaguares.

The ensemble’s recordings include Folk Music of Ventura County by Ambiente Productions (1975), Conjunto Hueyapan: Two Generations of Son Jarocho in Southern California (2003) and Conjunto Hueyapan: Two Generations of Son Jarocho in Southern California, Vol 2. (2004).

*The Son Mexicano

The son (plural form: sones) is Mexico’s most deeply rooted and widely diffused music genre. This music/song/dance tradition features several variants, including the son huasteco from central and eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas, northern Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, Puebla, Querétaro, Guanajuato), the son de mariachi
(southern Sinaloa, Nayarit, Colima, Michoacán, Jalisco), and the son jarocho (southern Veracruz).

Sones jarochos are musical numbers native to the coastal plain of southern Veracruz, Mexico. They are performed in a rapid 3/4 or 6/8 time tempo on traditional instruments from the region that include a 36-string harp, an eight-string guitar-type instrument know as the jarana, and a four-string guitar-type instrument called requinto jarocho.  It also incorporates dance in the form of The zapateado, lively foot-heel tapping, is used as a percussive element to accent the music. In addition, vocalists improvise verses named coplas to suit any occasion.

Listen to our two CDs here:

Conjunto Hueyapan. Dos Generaciones de Son Jarocho I
Conjunto Hueyapan. Dos Generaciones de Son Jarocho II