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Son Jarocho: Afroindigenous music and dance from the Gulf Coast of Mexico

Students would learn about the history and basic music, song, and dance of son jarocho, a tradition from the Gulf Coast of Mexico that has Southern Spanish, North and West African, and indigenous roots. 

Pennsylvania Curriculum Standards

(A=Assembly; W=Workshop; R=Residency)

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts A, W, R

15.4 Learning Through Experience A, W, R

25.3 Pro-Social Relationships with Adults W, R

25.4 Pro-Social Relationships with Peers W, R

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Art Form(s): Music, Dance

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Instrument(s): Electric Bass, Guitar, Drums

Assembly, Workshop, and Residency Offerings

Son Jarocho Assembly

The assembly would be didactic and participatory, where I would perform solo, accompanying myself on several different traditional instruments.  I would perform well-known sones from the son jarocho tradition - La Bamba, La Guacamaya, El Colás, El Torito Jarocho, among others, many of which have certain words in Spanish or basic dance movements that I would quickly teach students and encourage everyone to participate with.  In between the songs, I would cover basic history and explain the different instruments I bring, from the strummed guitar, the "jarana", to the violin, to the plucked melody instrument, the "requinto".  The assembly would conclude with a Q+A.  


Best for: K-12

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Also available as a Workshop or Residency!

Featuring: Ximena Violante

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Ximena Violante (pronouns: they/he) is a Mexican multi-instrumentalist and teacher creating spaces for people to celebrate their roots, re-imagine their futures, and expand their communities.  As a teaching artist, he has worked with NYC-based performing arts education group Mexico Beyond Mariachi to tour nationally with their Day of the Dead musical, as well as giving assemblies across the tri-state area.  In Philly and Boston, they've worked with families to write original bilingual lullabies for their children with Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project.  Independently, Ximena has led workshops and assemblies at the University of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, University of Texas San Antonio, Girls Rock Camp Alliance’s annual international conference, as well as grade schools and community gatherings.  

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Joined Musicopia: 2021

About the Artist
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