Son arribeño

Summary

Son arribeño, also called huapango arribeño, joins string-ensemble music, dancing and performed poetry in the Sierra Gorda and adjoining parts of Guanajuato, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí. Its poetic and ensemble practices distinguish it from son huasteco.

Contemporary and trending

Topadas and staged presentations keep the interaction between poet, players and public audible. Guillermo Velázquez and Los Leones de la Sierra de Xichú demonstrate both musical pieces and extended verbal encounters.

History

The tradition is transmitted through community festivities and the work of poet-musicians. The topada gives encounters between performing groups a sustained social setting; it is more than a short instrumental dance number.

Musical characteristics

A poet-guitarrero works with two violinists and a player of the regional accompanying vihuela or jarana. Décimas, improvised responses, sones and jarabes have different roles within the larger performance.

Geography and communities

Xichú, Concá, Rioverde and connected rural communities suggest one landscape rather than isolated city dots. Its overlap with the Huasteca does not make the two named traditions identical.

Artists

Guillermo Velázquez, Tobías Hernández and their ensembles provide identifiable entrances. A topada excerpt preserves their exchange; longer events should not be mistaken for one fixed song.

Related genres

Son huasteco; Corrido.