CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
CONJUNTO HUEYAPAN
September 17
7:30 PM, FREE
Hancock Park at the
La Brea Tar Pits, located between
LACMA and Page Museum
5801 Wilshire Blvd. LA, CA 90036
Conjunto Hueyapan was founded by Professor Fermín Herrera in 1973 in Oxnard, California. Today, the band consists of four brothers Fermín, Andrés, Jorge and Tomás Herrera, sister María Isabel Herrera and Fermín's two sons, Xocoyotzin and Motecuhzomah.
The family ensemble has dedicated itself to the performance and research of the son jarocho* and has conducted several important projects that have resulted in the documentation and preservation of the son mexicano, including jarocho music. As with all traditional Mexican ensembles, Conjunto Hueyapan also performs songs from other genres, including sones huastecos, sones de mariachi (traditional style), canciones rancheras, boleros, corridos and cumbias, etc.
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.
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.
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)
*Sones jarochos 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 called jarana, and a four-string guitar type instrument called requinto jarocho. 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.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Artist's website myspace.com/conjuntohueyapandelafamiliaherrera
Venue Hancock Park
Map 5801 Wilshire Blvd. LA, CA
