Folk music from Veracruz, Mexico — known as son jarocho, which draws from indigenous and African rhythms with Spanish-inspired instruments — is making a splash across the globe, and especially here in Chicago.
One of the son jarocho groups that has managed to take their music across the world with all the warmth of Veracruz and its culture is Mono Blanco, whose international story began in Chicago.
Founded in 1977 by Gilberto Gutiérrez and his brother José Angel, along with Juan Pascoe, Mono Blanco had their first concert in Chicago in the mid-1980s, thanks to an invitation from the Old Town School of Folk Music, Gutiérrez recalls.
“Chicago represents a lot for us, we have already been there several times performing alone, with other groups or at festivals. [That] first concert — I remember that it was very cold; it was in February 1987 or 1988. With that concert in Chicago, Mono Blanco’s international life began. In April of that year we went to North Korea for the first time,” Gutiérrez told La Voz in a telephone interview.
Their concert on Saturday, part of the series of Latino music concerts produced by the International Latino Cultural Center, continues their Chicago journey.
For Gutiérrez, the music and poetry of the son jarocho tradition expresses a full range of emotions, capable of taking you from laughter to tears while celebrating the Veracruz culture.
Gutiérrez said the emergence of son jarocho within the U.S. dates back to the 1940s. He cited the late Philadelphia-born American, Joseph Raoul Hellmer Pinkham , an ethnomusicologist, anthropologist and sociologist and scholar of Mexican culture, who specialized in compiling and disseminating traditional Mexican music, especially son jarocho, in America.
“Son jarocho is a genre for improvisation,” Gutierrez said, of what to expect at the upcoming concert. “Even if we play a song like ‘La guacamaya’ [over and over] it will never be the same [twice]. We generally offer a repertoire that showcases the various rhythms that encompass son jarocho, which is a genre for singing poetry.”
Mono Blanco currently features Gisela Farías on the jarana, a Mexican stringed instrument similar to the guitar; Andrés Vega Delfín on requinto jarocho, a smaller four- or five-stringed instrument; Octavio Vega Hernández on requinto, jarana and harp; Iván Farías on jarana; and Juan Campechano on leona, a large guitar-like instrument.
Last year, Mono Blanco was featured on “Lift Me Up” by Rihanna, the theme song from the movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” It was nominated for an Oscar for best song.
The opportunity was due in part to Mexican musician and producer Camilo Lara who worked on the soundtrack and suggested to Swedish producer/composer Ludwig Göransson to include the Veracruzanos.
“This song moved us very much; it is very strong and with a lot of energy and feeling. Rihanna is a great singer and it was an honor to be nominated. That’s the real Oscar for us, to be part of a song that is going to endure,” he added.
Movie music is no stranger to Mono Blanco. Prior to “Black Panther,” their music was included on the sounddtracks of several Mexican films including “Roma” by Alfonso Cuarón and “Danzón” and “Sin dejar huella” by María Novaro.
Of their work to preserve the legacy and tradition of one of the most deeply rooted music genres in Mexico, Gutiérrez notes that as the band continues to tour internationally, they also continue to play at fandangos (dances) back at the “rancho.”
“This is how tradition is maintained and shows that both things can coexist. We help young people to strengthen their identity with the legacy, the music and the tradition; we show young people who used to be ashamed of their origins that it is something to be proud of. We have to continue opening spaces so that the musicians who come [after us] continue on the path, so that our presence remains and who we are is not forgotten.”
