Arriba folklorico music and dance of Mexico

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In this episode of Arriba- Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico , we explore the region of the Huasteca and the musical genre of the Huapango .

The Huasteca region consists of:

- the southern part of the state of Tamaulipas;

- the northern part of the state of Veracruz;

- the state of San Luis Potosi;

- the state of Hidalgo

- the state of Queretaro

- the state of Puebla

From the state of San Luis Potosi, we show the Quesqueme attire from the woman's costume of that region.

We introduce the section by the introduction of 2 Huapangos:

- Brief introduction of the Classic huapango of LA PETENERA , as played by a conjunto huasteco; and

- Brief introduction of the Modern huapango EL REY DE LA HUASTECA from Jose Hernandez , the director of the Mariachi Sol de Mexico .

We then go into the elements of the Huapango, which includes:

- the inverted verses ;

- the falsetto voice (in Spanish, falsete );

- the dynamic and improvised lyrics of the pregronero ;

- and in some cases, the picaresque and rogue-like double-meaning huapango picante .

For the latter, we demonstrate with a case-in-point of the huapango picante EL QUERREQUE .

Also, to demonstrate the falsetto voice (falsete ), we have the classic huapango of LA MALAGUENA , as compared to the purist version from the original style as played by the Trio Chicontepec. Both of these are only a few seconds in length to show the contrast of the same song, but in different styles that have emerged for the benefit of entertainment.

And finally, we end the episode by playing the entire version of the modern huapango , which was written and composed and arranged and played by Jose Hernandez . He is the director of the Mariachi Sol de Mexico from South El Monte, California, and whose restaurant CIELITO LINDO is highlighted during the interview with him in episode 2 of this podcast series. The theme and story line for this song, published in 2005-2006 by Hernandez Productions, is also explained.

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico , we travel to the South of Mexico on the Pacific waters, stretching along the coast to the northern part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The state of Oaxaca has one of the largest populations of native indigenous tribes, or "indios" as the Latin Americans call them.

Of the seven major cultures and areas of Oaxaca, we focus on 2: the Zapotecas and the Mixtecos .

In this episode, the music from the Jarabe Mixteco opens the show.

We also discuss the fiesta that takes place in July which is known as La Gelaguetza , or the "fiesta de la Sierra."
In the capital city of Oaxaca itself, we describe one of the main indigenous dances, DANZA DE LA PLUMA.

Also, during the festivities of La Gelaguetza, the food is rich--in particular, the famed MOLE NEGRO Oaxaqueno .

In addition to the mention of the archaeological zones in the region--such as Mitla and Monte Alban --the episode describes the courtship dance of the JARABE MIXTECO, with its stanzas and tableaus for the CHASE, the TORITO and the conquest of the man over woman to symbolize the move from suitor to marriage partner. Especially symbolic is the rose that the lady carries by the stem in her teeth, and which the man grabs from her with his teeth to symbolize the transition from enagement to marriage.

The episode ends with the ending musical score of the JARABE MIXTECO. It is usually played by big brass bands during the festivities of La Gelaguetza, but here, we listen to a version performed by mariachis.

Copyright (c) 2009, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico , we explore the idyllic region in Southwestern Mexico, the land of the Tarascan indigenous tribes--the Tarascos -- the state of Michoacan .

The Tarascan tribes are a people that feel that they have never been subjugated by the Spaniards--although their land was occupied. Like other indigenous tribes of Mexico today, they still mingle their Spanish language with inclusions of phrases and words from their own native dialects, which descend from the word-of-mouth teachings in the Tarascan tongue.
Case in point: the song in the audio podcast episode demonstrates the Tarascan lady singing in Tarascan language, then ending up with a Spanish phrase, as she delves into the eternal theme in Mexican folklore--that "Life is a Dream" (la vida es sueno ).

In addition to the song whose lyrics are mixed with both languages, the instrumental piece of folklore that is common to the entire region of the Tarascos is the Jarabe Michoacano . This is a longer dance, in which the shyness of the woman is characterized by her never looking at her partner--instead, she stares at the ground through most of the dance, until the joy of the parts signifying fiesta, burro, noviazgo, aguila, estrella , and the final pursuit or chase.
In the end, the man (who is wearing a zarape or large gavan ) covers her braided hair under her straw hat (sombrero michoacano) and symbolizes the marriage--a union of the man and woman.

A fitting end to this jarabe from Michoacan, as this dance contains all the symbolism of work, life, fiesta and fun, courtship (as all jarabes are), conquest of the lady's heart, and commitment of marriage and acceptance of the man by the woman.

This episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico describes the wonderful evening at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin, Texas, with the first annual gala event called NOCHE DE MARIACHI .

This was not a "battle of the bands." Rather, it was a community of mariachi bands in and near the Austin area for a celebration of the mariachis in central Texas.

The quality mariachis that were featured and played their songs (which did not overlap with other pieces performed by other groups)--

- Mariachi Los Lobos - Mariachi Estrella - Mariachi Suroeste - Mariachi Relalmpago

and there was a special solist, Rebekah Ramos , who was accompanied by el Mariachi Relampago , when she performed 2 songs, one of them being SOLAMENTE UNA VEZ . What a lovely piece and performed exquisitely well.
There was a folklorico dance group called the Pan American Ballet Folklorico that performed 2 numbers--they opened the event with LA CULEBRA and ended the show with dancers in the aisles of the theatre as ALL the mariachis accompanied them to the piece EL SON DE LA NEGRA by Silvestre Vargas.
Yes, there was also a group called Margaritas de Tejas that tried to perform some numbers. Even though the national fad for having all-female groups has reached Austin, this was the only group whose quality did NOT stand anywhere near the quality of the other mariachis.

We tried to get a number from the CD of songs of Mariachi Relampago (which they were selling in the lobby, and of which I purchased) to be included in this episode. However, the Mariachi Relampago would not give us the permission to include this.
Thus, we had to use a previously recorded live performance of the Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil of the Independent School Districts of San Antonio dancing to the accompaniment of various mariachis in the open air theatre in San Antonio, Texas, during the week-long festivities of the event called FIESTA .
Still, the mariachi Relampago, Estrella and Suroeste (from San Marcos, Texas) provided a wonderful evening of dance and culture. This event even included a live wedding (that was called "Mariachi Surprise", in which 2 young people took their wedding vows as they were accompanied by the Mariachi Estrella.
The finale was a traditional and powerful experience--as Mr. Bowie Ibarra , master of ceremonies, mentioned--that no gala evening of mariachi music would be complete without the performance of LA NEGRA . And, in this case, all the mariachis crowded the stage and the aisles to play that one song, together as a community of Mexican culture.

This was the first performance of this NOCHE DE MARIACHI. I will not miss next year's annual event--and, as I mentioned in the audio episode, I will probably come dressed in my own Traje de Charro, traje de gala, for this celebration of folklorico music and dance of Mexico.

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Artwork was from the program of the event.

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico , we explore the region of Yucatan -- home of the descendants of the Idyllic indigenous peoples known as the Mayas , and center for the folklorico dance known as the Jarana .
In this episode, we explore the beginnings of the big Brass Band, called the Banda Yucateca , and we review the costume worn by both the men and women who danced the Jaranas Yucatecas during the Vaqueria s or the Serenatas in the gazebo or town square in municipalities such as Merida .

In addition, the practice of the declamador or pregonero reciting the improvised and humorous (and sometimes double-meaninged or picaresque) verses of the BOMBA! is shown by an audio clip from a piece performed in the FIESTA celebration in San Antonio, Texas.

The final music that ends this podcast episode is that of the Jarana dance of EL TORO , which symbolizes the conquest of the bull by the matador (in this case, the role of the bull being played by the woman, and the man taking the role of the matador in taunting the beast with his handkerchief, which he uses as a "cape.").

Copyright (c) 2008, Matrix Solutions Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

In this epioside of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico , we deliver a 4-minute promo podcast episode IN SPANISH to promote the upcoming event called a "Podcamp ."

Yes, it is that time of year again. The second annual Podcamp (or Podcast unconference ) will be held in San Antonio, Texas, on May 3, 2008. We will represent this podcast series in style. Not only will our presence be known, as we will deliver 2 presentations about the current phenomenon of New Media (podcasting), but we will also promote the podcast series in addition to the recent launch of two other podcast shows.
The presentations will be (1) How to avoid burnout and prevent podfading ; and (2) How to take your podcast from hobby or Corporate podcast to profitable podcast . We will use examples from the recent launch of the 2 podcast series, the Struggling Entrepreneur (at www.strugglingentrepreneur.com ) and Gain Control of Your Day (at www.gaincontrolofyourday.com ).
The Podcamp San Antonio is an UN-CONFERENCE --that is, an unstructured event where anyone can present and participate--from the novice who is there for education, to the veteran podcaster who si there to take the podcast to the next level.
Last year, we had the pleasure of the company of Gary Leland , Mr. P. Dilly, who is also known as the Podcast Pickle, since he has a podcast directory known as the PICKLE.
The best part of the Podcam p event is that it is FREE -- a no charge event that helps the podcasting community bond and grow.
For more information, contact Michael DeLeon or Jennifer Navarrette (at epodcaster@gmail.com), or go to the website of www.podcampsanantonio.org .

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico music and dance of Mexico , we focus in detail on the musical corridos and polkas of the Mexican Revolution of 1910 (Revolucion Mexicana ).
The beginning of this podcast starts with Show Janitzio performing a portion of the polka called Jesusita en Chihuahua . This podcast episode ends with 2 complete songs performed live by Show Janitzio (not played from a CD)--Valentin de la Sierra and La Muerte de un Soldado .
An emphasis is placed on the role of the Mexican women during the Revolucion , who fought in the conflict right alongside their men. The 5 most famous heroines in the ballads of the corridos during the Revolucion were:
- La Cucaracha
- Adelita
- Valentina
- Juana Gallo and
- Jesusita en Chihuahua .

For more information about the story told by the corrido of La Cucaracha , you can get the 1954 film by that name from Mexcinema Video Corporation . The complete set of Lyrics can be found in the literary work called Antologia de Poesia Mexicana . You can find the lyrics for Benjamin Argumedo , as well.

What is interesting is that Show Janitzio includes an accordion in the group, which is not typical for a traditional group of Mexican musicians known as the trio . However, the accordion adds the flavor that is needed to make the experience of the corrido from the Revolucion Mexicana a wonderful experience.

This episode ends with Show Janitzio playing Valentin de la Sierra and La Muerte de un Soldado.

Copyright (c) 2007, Matrix Solutons Corporation and Show Janitzio. Music performed by Show Janitzio and published with their permisison.

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexic o, we go further into the discussion of the grenres of the Romantic music of the Golden Age (Siglo de Oro ) of Mexican Music during the 1950s and 1960s with the troubador group (los trios ) called Show Janitzio .

The interview is conducted live at Estela's Restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. The musical piece titled A LA MUJER QUE YO AME begins this episode; and it is played in completion at the end of this podcast episode .

Special attention is paid to the composers of these romantic ballads and to the titles of the more famous songs--e.g., Roberto Cantoral , the composer of EL RELOJ, LA BARCA and REGALAME ESTA NOCHE , etc.

Also, listen to see which composers and which songs are the favorites of the group Show Janitzio.

In addition, the next episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico will be focusing on the corridos and polkas of the Revolucion Mexicana of 1910.

Copyright (c) 2007, Matrix Solutions Corporation and Show Janitzio. Album Art displayed and Music played with permission from Show Janitzio.

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance Of Mexico , we have an interview with the 4 musicians that comprise SHOW JANITZIO , a musical troubador group that specializes in the romantic ballads of the Golden Age of Mexican Music in the 1950's and 1960's.

However, this trio and quartet also show their flexibility by being able to play any style of Mexican music on demand--from boleros to rancheras to corridos to polkas, etc. The differential advantage of this group is the inclusion of the accordion that brings a style all their own.

Listen to the 4 musicians as they describe their performances in their home base of San Antonio, Texas, as well as their tours across the cities of the United States and internationally, as well.
In another set of podcast episodes, we will have the songs from this group played at the end when we focus upon not only the romantic period of the Mexican Music during the SIGLO DE ORO (the Golden Age) , but also the corridos of the Revolucion Mexicana of 1910.

Note: This present episode is from the archives of a related podcast called The Struggling Entrepreneur at www.strugglingentrepreneur.com . Although it goes deeper into the history of the group and their struggles to become successful in the world of professional troubadors, the content is just as interesting to the world of folklorico music and dance--especially with the emphasis on the Golden Age of Romantic Music of Mexico. For it is here that we see the final evolution of the serenata (serenade) in the modern day--from its humble beginnings in other genres of Mexican folklorico music, such as in Jalisco (see episode 001 for a brief discussion of the serenade by the charro).

We have 2 more episodes with Show Janitzio , in which we will focus strictly on the folkloric music and dance of the Mexican Revolution or the Revolucion Mexicana of 1910, especially the polkas and corridos. We will also have a separate episode where we will look deeper into the romantic music of the Golden Age -- the decades of the trios mexicanos .

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico, we will focus with live interviews from a musical group in San Antonio, Texas. On November 17, I had the opportunity to interview the 4 musicians of Mexican music from the group, Show Janitzio .
The interviews will be posted on this blog in 3 parts:

(1) Music and dance from the Revolucion Mexicana de 1910 . This interview focuses on the corrido and polka from that era. There will be a couple of songs that the group, Show Janitzio, will play for us live at one of the restaurants at which they play, Estela's , in San Antonio, Texas.

(2) Musica de los trios--el Siglo De Oro de musica romantica mexicana .
This will be a discussion of the "golden age" of the romantic music from the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's that saw the abundance of musical guitar troubadors known as trios , who sang the romantic songs of such composers like Roberto Cantoral, Armando Manzanero, etc. The group even played one original song that they put together in a live environment from Estela's .

(3) The inside look at Show Janitzio .
The third interview is a look at the musical group themselves, Show Janitzio. It starts with their beginnings and lives through their struggles and ends up with their present work at delivering the music that is loved and requested by the Hispanic audiences in Texas and other parts of the country, and their love for this music. It will also describe their struggle to launch their own music as an independent group. This interview will also be posted as a podcast episode of The Struggling Entrepreneur .

These interviews will be posted in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico, we share some reflections of the Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California.
On September 28, 29 and 30 of this year, we attended the Podcast and New Media Expo . The podcast was well represented, and many of the pundits and authors and podcasters who attended this event kept asking about this podcast and how it was going.
Special thanks to Tee Morris.
Tee is one of the co-authors of the book and the companion podcast called Podcasting for Dummies . He was kind enough to mention our podcast at his elective session in the 2006 conference.
We especially had a good mention during Dave Jackson 's podcast episode 107 and 108 of the School of Podcasting's Morning Announcements . It seems that Dave was my guest for a dinner at the Cielito Lindo Restaurant, which is owned by Jose Hernandez , the singer, musician, author, educator, composer, artist and director of the Mariachi Sol de Mexico . In his podcast episodes, Dave mentions what a "phenomenal" experience it was, as he had a great time, and because it was his first time to see a live mariachi group perform (they had nine members that evening, including Jose Hernandez), it was an experience never to be forgotten.
By the way, you may remember that we interviewed Jose Hernandez in episode 02 of this podcast in September of 2006.

We also provided an introduction (a "bumper") about this podcast series of Folklorico Music and Dance for an August episode of the podcast series about the Podcast and New Media Expo called The Podcast Brothers .

As far as our planned episode, we were originally scheduled to have an interview with Juan Carlos of the trio Show Janitizio, the Troubadors , on 27 October 2007. However, due to illness with the trio, we would have to postpone it to a later time. We did plan to provide 2 themes for two separate episodes:
(1) the era of the Trios Romanticos of the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's--to include the music of the famous composers like Roberto Cantoral and Armando Manzanero , etc.
(2) The era of the Revolucion Mexicana of 1910 --especially with the history and selection of live music that would be played by Show Janitizio of the famous corridos de la Revolucion.

Thus, we hope to have the time in November to capture the interview with this trio and deliver to you the lively corridos de la Revolucion, as well as the romantic ballads of the era of the trios romanticos mexicanos.

We thank you for your paitience.

Danza de los Machetes or El Jarabe Nayarita.

In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico , Nayarit is a state that is rather small in size, when compared to its neighbors (like Jalisco), which stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the footsteps of the Central Plateau (el altiplanicie ). The people of the region are vibrant, dynamic, resourceful, hard-working and respectful of the women in their towns and villages – and it shows in their dances.

In Nayarit, the natural surroundings of the agricultural region are part of the daily life. The farmers grow corn, beans, and sugar. The cattle and the oxen that pull the yokes and plow the fields and are used for almost all the heavy work for the farmers are key animals—all part of everyone’s life and livelihood.
Thus, as is common with the campesinos, or farmers, the simplest things in life are the topics that are used when creating dances and songs—the eagles, the birds, the horses, and the bovine—both cattle, and in this case, the oxen.

A clip is played from the other traditional dance from Nayarit called El Buey (the Ox).
However, in this episode, we focus mainly on the Jarabe Nayarita , the more popular dance of this region, otherwise known locally as the “Danza de los Machetes .”

The men wear black boots and calzones de manta (that is, the beige colored trousers), with a brightly colored shirt (in some groups, a camisa de manta , or shirt of the same fabric, is worn). The men use scarves or headbands around their temples. They wear a sash of brightly colored fabric, and they would use this sash for holding in place their machetes .

Why would they carry machetes?
Because even though the livelihood of this region is mainly agricultural—farming and cattle-- the products from the ground are of prime importance – especially the sugar cane.

The men carry 2 machetes, and when they dance, one machete is held with the right hand by the handle, and the dull side of the blade rests on the right shoulder. The other machete is held with the left hand, which is wrapped behind the man’s back, resting slightly above his waist.

Now, as masters of wielding their instruments during the ZAFRA (i.e., the harvest of the sugar cane), the men would incorporate the machetes into their dances, thus not only showing off their mastery in the way they handled these blades, but also in competition with other men who may be rivals for the affection of the pretty senoritas.

During the Jarabe Nayarita , the men not only clang the blades together to the tempo and beat of the musical melodies of fast movements, but they then toss the machete to the man facing him, and they EXCHANGE the blades in mid-air, and even later on have them cover their eyes and keep clanging the machetes together to the music, sometimes with sparks flying from the grind of metal against metal.

We are hoping that we can get an interview with a musical group for the next episode, as we would like to present a summary of the corridos of the Revolucion Mexicana of 1910. And we would love to have our musicians actually play these ballads and songs that are still very much alive in the hearts of Mexicans today. We will still try for that special bonus of los corridos y las polkas (o polcas) de la Revolucion .

Today, we had a discussion with Dave Jackson, who is the podcaster for the School of Podcasting podcast.
He has been around for years in the podosphere, is aware of this podcast series, and I will be interviewing him in the future about his recommendations for resources with an upcoming podcast that I will produce for beginning entrepreneurs.
I also had the opportunity to be part of the paid membership of the School of Podcasting and participate in an e-coaching session, complete with e-meeting whiteboard with multiple students who entered the meeting.
I gave the URL of the podcast series blog to the community in this classroom session, and we received positive comments from those who viewed the pages of the blog.

Thanks to Dave Jackson for his time and interest in Arriba! Folklorico music and dance of Mexico.

I know we will be interviewing him (and vice versa) by the time of the Podcast and New Media Expo in Ontario, California, in late September of this year.

This episode covers the music and dance of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico--in particular, the state of Chiapas and the sound of the marimba .
In this episode of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico , we discuss the costume of the Chamula tribe in Chiapas and some of the older
folklorico dances in the state of Chiapas--el Jibali, el Rascapetate and Las Chiapanecas.

As you can see from the image, above, the women wear beautiful, full, black dresses that have been decorated with bright colors with patterns of tropical flowers.
The men of the region wear calzones de manta (trousers), camisa de manta (shirt), huaraches (sandals) and sombrero de paja (straw hat).
As the podcast describes, the men usually work in the plains areas of Chiapas, either cutting wood or cutting sugar cane with their machetes.

1. From the stories of Don Juan Tenorio, the Jibali (wild boar) descends upon the unsuspecting wives of the villagers and tries to deceive them and win their favor. Obviously a symbol of an intruder who preys upon the innocence of the women of the family, the Jibali dances in circles as he enjoys the liberty to win the favor of the women.
However, the men of the village discover what is happening and return to the village, machetes in hand. They deal a vengeful blow and destroy the Jibali , after which they tie him to a couple of bamboo shoots and carry him off the stage. This dance symbolizes the respect for women due by their partners and the punishment dealt to a deceiving intruder.

2. El Rascapetate is another courtship dance, in which the flaring of the rebozo (woman's shawl) highlights the mellow choreography that quickly changes into a fast, dynamic rythm of happiness and the agreement of the woman to the courtship and marriage of her suitor.

3. Las Chiapanecas is the most famous melody of the state of Chiapas, in which the homage is paid to the lovely ladies of Chiapas. Simple and melodic in its tune, this is a favorite among the schools of the US during the Cinco de Mayo festivities, as many of the educational institutions teach the basic steps of this dance to the children. It is a happy and enjoyable melody that rivals only the world-known melodies of Mexican music of the Jarabe Tapatio (a son jalisciense) and La Cucaracha (a corrido from the Mexican Revolution of 1910).

We look forward to the next podcast episode, in which we are trying to confirm an interview. We are trying to confirm with a musician in Austin who is a professional that plays the marimba tropical . We are also trying to locate other musicians who can describe and play for us some of the more famous public domain corridos of the Revolucion Mexicana.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the lovely music and dance of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, especially the state of Chiapas.

I had planned to promote this podcast series at several PodCamp events, and I do plan to promote it at several more expo events, as I describe, below.
I was going to represent this series at the PodCamp MidWest session in Kansas City, scheduled for July 20-21, 2007. However, the event was cancelled for that date and is now being rescheduled. Well, a missed opportunity.

But, on Saturday, 28 July 2007, our podcast was highlighted and represented by myself as a speaker during the online "PodCamp" session (which went on all day from 9 am Eastern time to 9pm Eastern time, USA).
This online version of a Podcamp had many people logging in to hear speakers from all aspects of Podcasting--beginners, advanced, hints-and-tips, and many other contributors who shared information and suggestions and recommendations with the Podcasting community.

The PodCampCity Online wiki gave the agenda for this session. I was scheduled for the last presentation, from 8:30 pm Eastern time for 60 minutes.
Prior to that, I did attend other sessions from other contributors.
My presentation centered around the topic of "How to avoid burnout and prevent podfading." I did present a series of 10 charts in the online meeting room, which was quite nice -- it allowed one not only to upload and present slides (with the highlighting, pointing, color and other electronic tools from any electronic team meeting room), but also allowed the presenter to go to any live URL on the internet. In addition, other people could converse and share information or ask questions of the presenter from the group chat area, as well as queue up to ask a question from their local mic attached to their computers. It was quite impressive, although the bandwidth issue and network problems actually cut off my presentation for about 10 of the 60 minutes. I did send the coordinators of the PodCampCity Online copies of my slides, and they will be posted to the wiki (at the link, above) shortly.

During the morning and evening, when I was introducing my presentation and giving a short biographical sketch of myself, I did put in a promotion for the Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico podcast. Also, at several times when my bio was presented, I also played the beginning intro music to our episode 3 (the region of Veracruz) of this series. I also mentioned my bio in the form of an interview podcast from episode 13 of Immigration Tales podcast, which is hosted by Victor Cajiao (you can see previous posts about this).

And during the actual presentation, I spent a bit of time in which I explained about the Arriba! podcast .
I gave a lengthy description of how this podcast is my "passion" since 30 years ago, and how I used it to sharpen my skills as a podcast producer.
I also was able to mention the promotional podcast that I created and donated to the prior Podcamp session, PodCamp San Antonio on May 19, 2007.
This is the link to the mp3 file for this nearly 4-minute promo podcast recorded in SPANISH .. .

Our next episode will be coming later in August, as we prepare for representation at the Podcast and New Media Expo. (note: this is the same Expo event hosted by Tim Bourquin , and which I attended last year with the media kit from this series). I will be representing our podcast series with others in a special tract for educators, as well as hobbyists who will be podcasting for "passion."
If I have the time after attending the Podcast Academy 6 session at the Ontario, California, Marriott meeting room, I do plan to see if I can attend any sessions for the PodCamp Southern California session on the 27th of September, as that will be taking place at the Ontario, California, Expo showgrounds, as well.
I will be attending several sessions, events and presentations that will be hosted and given by Paul Colligan , the host of the popular Podcast Tools Weekly Update Podcast, as well as the author of the Business Podcasting Bible .
I will be representing this podcast series at all these events.

Thanks for your support, and I hope to see you at these upcoming events.

Imagine it to be the late 15th Century or early 16th Centruy -- a time before the year 1519, before the arrival of the Spaniards to Mexico.
It is a cool and breezy afternoon in the central highland plateau of Mexico.
It is possibly the afternoon of the equinox, a religious feast day of tremendous magnitude in the religion of the people that inhabit a major metropolis of nearly one million people in the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital city of the Aztec empire.
The call from the conchas , or shell, alerts the people that the hour has arrived for the religious celebration to take place around the base of the pyramids in the center of the city. The entire population will be asked to participate.
From all the causeways that lead to the center of Tenochtitlan, the people come marching to be in the festivities in which they will pay thanks and homage to their deities.
Atop the top of the pyramid, at the teocalli , the smoke from a small fire can be seen; the high priests from the orden sacerdotal , or the sacerdotal order, await for the massing of the people.
When they are all together, the festivities begin –
-the incantations are given,
- the guerras floridas take place; these are the mock battles and mock wars fought with flowers and banners surrounded by flowers on bamboo or reed shafts carried by warriors and swung like knives and swords, instead of the real weapons;
- the human sacrifices are performed;
- and then the dance begins...

this podcast opens by setting the stage of the folkloric dances of the ancient Aztec empire -- what we call, las danzas indigenas – the folkloric dances of the indigenous tribes of Mexico.

This scenario took place in many of the indigenous tribal cities – from Tlaxcala to Cholula to Tenochtitlan, the central might of the Aztec empire, which is today Mexico City.

In this episode, we will cover the danzas indigenas , that is the pre-Columbian era of Mexican folklore and dance.

We cover 3 regions or tribes and their pre-Columbian dances: (1) the Aztecs with their dances honoring their deities called Quetzalcoatl and Huizilopotchli ; (2) the Poblanos and their Danza de los Quetzales ; and (3) the famous Danza del Venado of the Yaquis in the Northwestern desert areas of Sonora.

Different examples of the music are given in this podcast episode, as the recordings came from an outdoor, live performance of Ballet Folklorico groups in a free presentation at the large open-air ampitheatre in San Antonio, Texas.

This podcast also contains a brief discussion of the importance of folkloric dance to the indigenous peoples of Mexico, as well as how it set the stage of the evolution of what is today folklorico music and dance of Mexico, after the coming of the Spaniards and the Conquest of Mexico.

The pre-Columbian folklore dance is also shown in the repertoire of the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico.
This Ballet has been a great ambassador of Mexico to the world in promoting the folklorico music and dance of Mexico.

This posting, along with an episode from another podcast in which I was interviewed, may seem to digress a bit from our pure episodes of Mexican folklorico music and culture. But because the first part of the interview dealt with this podcast series, I have included it as an espisode, thanks to Victor Cajiao and his podcast series, Immigration Tales .
For those who may want only to listen to the folklorico music and dance content, then I will post the next episode shortly -- with the theme of las danzas indigenas precolombianas . So be advised that we will deliver that to you soon.

However, on Friday afternoon, 15 June 2007, I had the privilege of discussing my story of being an immigrant to the United States--not once, but twice. I was fortunate to collaborate with Victor Cajiao, the Podcaster of the Immigration Tales podcast on iTunes .
Victor was the interviewer, and I the interviewee.
You can listen to the mp3 file here on this episode; or you can subscribe to the series on iTunes; or you can go to the Immigration Tales web site.
In short, Victor started with questions and curiosity about my entrance into podcasting with the current podcast of Arriba! Folklorico Music and Dance of Mexico . He liked the introductory music of the podcast's episode 3 (Veracruz, the Jarocho Music, and El Son de la Bamba ) that he used the outdoor ampitheatre festivities at Fiesta in San Antonio, Texas as the beginning of his episode 13 for Immigration Tales . I did describe my entrance into podcasting as a passion for the history of the Mexican culture, in particular, the folklorico music and dance of my native Mexico.
Victor also then spent some time on my immigration experiences from Mexico to the USA, as well as my adjustment and acculturation.
However, the different twist in this Immigration Tales podcast was that I had another immigration story -- and that was when, as a combat infantryman who had just finished serving a tour of duty in Vietnam during the past war, I had a migration upon returning to the United States from Vietnam.

Needless to say, my love of folklorico music and dance will keep me posting episodes. I do plan the next one to include the cultural origins of the folklore from the pre-Columbian era--the dances and music of the indigenous tribes (like the Aztecs) that populated Mexico with their civilizations before the arrival of the Spaniards and the conquistadores . I will make sure to include some content of the dances performed in Tenochtitlan , which is present-day Mexico City.

But my thanks to Victor Cajiao for his enthusiasm for the theme of Immigration, his professionalism as an interviewer and his passion for podcasting. And, yes, Victor is himself one of the subjects of Immigration Tales , as he is a Cuban immigrant to the USA. His story is the first episode, and I strongly suggest that you visit his web site and listen to it (or subscribe to the series in iTunes ).
In case you haven't listened to Victor before, he did have a previous podcast series called the Typical PC User podcast. Although he has completed the run of that podcast, he has another series (if you are a user of Apple's computers), called Typical Mac User podcast. He shares a lot of good and useful information to the community of computer users in this platform.

The podcast was represented at this "unconference."

Well, we did represent the Podcast series of Arriba! Folklorico music and dance of Mexico at the first annual Podcamp San Antonio 2007 event last weekend, on 19 May 2007.
Although we could not stay for the entire day (because we were interviewing an individual who would give us a testimonial for another podcast), it was a rather enjoyable event and full of very inquisitive people
The event itself was very well organized -- both from a technical support and from an infrastructure perspective. Not only were the presentations delivered in a live streaming environment (my understanding is that one of the sponsors, Podcast Ready ) was helping to provide this for this "unconference."
We also had the opportunity to listen to, and speak with, Gary Leland of the Podcast Pickle. In fact, there was even an appearance of the Pickle mascot itself.

Presentations and photos

During the conference, I (Federico) personally had an opportunity to share with those who attended the session by delivering two presentations:
(1) Experiences in Podcasting -- podcasting for "passion," Corporate podcasting & Podcasting for profit ; and
(2) How to avoid burnout and prevent podfading .

At first, I thought that the audience was falling asleep when I was speaking the second time (right after lunch). However, there were a number of people who came up to me afterwards and gave me feedback and comments about how much they enjoyed the discussion and its relevance to them in their podcasts.
I figured that their silence during the presentation was due to reflecting upon the relevance of the topic in their own lives -- that they were recognizing the stages and signals of feeling overwhelmed, losing passion for their topic, seeing events in their lives now step in and conflict with the time they spent in their podcasts, losing control of their day and possibly overcommitting the financial investment in podcasting.

We did our best to share with others our experiences (especially to those who were interested in getting into podcasting). We tried to share information such as resources, where to go for help, references to those who have pioneered the way in podcast activities earlier.

We did have an opportunity to meet with a couple of other podcasters who were members of the Podcast Secrets 2007 course. We know that we will see them in Ontario at the Podcast and New Media Expo from September 28-30.

The organizers of the PodCamp had organized photographers to capture images of the event. Perhaps we shall be visible in the photos captured during the sessions--they will be at the PodCamp San Antonio 2007 website. Also, we shall see what type of feedback is given by the worldwide podcasters who did view the live streaming delivery of the event (we heard during the session that several European visitors were participating with us during the event).

The value of an "unconference" and some suggestions

All in all, this type of "unconference" does have its value in providing help to others and networking with other podcasters in the region. The only feedback we would give to organizers in other regions who want to implement a Podcamp unconference is to allocate more time to those "sharing" or presenting. Suggestion: 20 minutes for a presentation (to deliver the information on the topic and stir up the discussion), followed by an additional 20 minutes for Questions-and-Answers or feedback/discussion. As it was, 15 minutes to deliver a message or share a topic (which was originally planned for 30 minutes) only created the environment of a more structured conference (i.e., a one-to-many presentation) instead of an interactive discussion.

Although our participation was not as much as we would have liked, due to the prior commitments at the end of the day, as well as the distance from Austin, the intent is to return next year on May 17, 2008, and participate more in the second annual PodCamp San Antonio 2008.

(note: this post was originally published prior to the conference)
On May 19, 2007, there will be an "unconference" held in the city of San Antonio, Texas. This podcast will be represented and presented there, as an example of "podcasting-for-passion."
I will be presenting 2 sessions:
(1) Title of session is "Experiences in Podcasting: podcasting-for-passion and corporate podcasting, as well as podcasting-for-profit"; and
(2) Title of the afternoon session is: "How to prevent burnout and podfading."

Since I had planned on attending this first PodCamp in the area and wanted to contribute to the community, I was asked to record a promo podcast in Spanish to promote awareness of the event for the San Antonio and surrounding communities.

Thus, I did record a promo podcast in conjunction with the organizers of PodCamp San Antonio

You can listen to the brief promo podcast by going to the to the web site, above, and review the details of the conference at this web site. The promo podcast is located there.

I will post another entry to this blog to let you know how things went at the event and describe the community at this first annual "unconference" called PodCamp San Antonio 2007 . In the meantime, I will be promoting this podcast, as well as other cultural and educational podcasts, at the event.

In this episode, we explore the Eastern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in the lively culture of the Jarocho people in Veracruz and those around the River Papaloapan. Besides el Tilingo Lingo. la Bruja and El Aguanieve (El Zapateado), the focus is on the wedding dance, el son de La Bamba. In addition, the costumes are vividly described, along with the romantic Mexican custom of the serenata (the serenade), but this time, Mananitas con jarana.

Notice that the gentleman Jarocho dancer and his lady companion would sometimes compete to the vibrant, rhythmic steps of the very fast heel-and-toe movements and steps called zapateados and taconeados (as is depicted in the photo of the dance, el son del tilingo lingo ).

On other occasions, the women would imitate the movements with their skirts of such animals such as palomas (doves) and mariposas (butterflies). One such dance is El Palomo y la Paloma , where the man's chivalry shines through. In some folklorico groups, the gentlemen bring in chairs to the stage so that the ladies may be seated. During the dance, the men tip their hats, remove them and bow, while genuflecting in front of their damsel, to show the high respect that Mexican men had for the women that they were courting.

On other occasions, the loveliness of the mestiza came through in a sensual dance called La Bruja (the witch). The serious look of the women pervade the evening as they dance with lit candles on their heads. As these women solo in their purely feminine dance, the theme of woman being the enchantress is dominant in this tropical region.

The music is lively, with songs famous as the Canto a Veracruz, El Balaju and El Siquirisi, as well as El Cascabel . The musicians play with the Veracruz harp, which is smaller and much more vibrant than the classical harp. A very similar harp is played in neighboring Venezuela, whose coastal peoples have a lively culture very similar to that of the jarochos. In addition to the melody lead of the harp, the jarana and requinto add accompaniment and rhythm, as well as the Spanish guitarra .

The competition for groups and families is seen in El Aguanieve (also known today as El Zapateado ), where improvisations and contests reign on the tarima (the wooden platform), and the finale ends with the entire ensemble participating together in the last verses.

The couples perform their dynamic steps in their white costumes, reflecting the heat of this subtropical climate.
The jarocho region of Veracruz is considered to be one of the liveliest and happiest areas of Mexican folklorico dance. For some people, it is incredible to imagine that these songs, like the wedding song of La Bamba , were being danced in the 18th century (during the time of the American War for Independence, also known as the Revolutionary War).

Today, La Bamba is still the favorite of wedding couples, as they tie the knot (literally) by dancing steps while tying a bow with their feet, signifying their union and unity in marriage. It is the audio of La Bamba that is featured in this podcast episode 003.

Please note: from the prior post, you will notice that this episode with the interview actually is posted on another blog, since I had trouble getting access into this version of Blogger.com. The web link takes you to an embedded player, where you have the click-to-play option.
However, if you wish to download the mp3 file for this episode to your ipod, please click on the link highlighted, above in the title of the post.

In this episode, Federico Castaneda interviews Jose Hernandez, the director-creator of El Mariachi Sol de Mexico (R), and the discussion includes not only folklorico dancing and the accompaniment of mariachis with the performers, but also touches upon the topics of the musical genres of Mexican music, artists and directions & trends.
Impressive is the vast scope that Jose Hernandez includes in his love of Mexican music -- composer-arranger-author-singer-musician-performer-humanitarian-educator -- and his contribution not only to the style and implementation in the last 25 years, but also in his quest to keep the spirit of folklorico music and mariachi music and Mexican music alive forever in our hearts.
A special treat includes the performance of 2 musical pieces: (1) the inclusion of a few seconds of his mariachi playing their "sol de Mexico" introduction at the beginning; and (2) the inclusion of the complete piece of the song called "El Rey de la Huasteca"--which is described and discussed during the interview.
For more information about the songs, about purchasing the music, about the restaurant Cielito Lindo, or about the Mariachi Sol de Mexico or Jose Hernandez, please visit the web site of:
www. mariachi-sol.com.

After a series of delays -- some of which were beyond control -- we are finally uploading the final mp3 file and next episode of this series to iTunes and the directories. This is the episode that has the interview with Jose Hernandez, the director of the Mariachi Sol de Mexico (R).

This episode has a special treat for you. In this interview, Jose Hernandez speaks of his most recent DVD and CD that celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Mariachi Sol de Mexico (see photo in this posting). In particular, he describes a song called El Rey de la Huasteca, an original piece that was written, composed, arranged and played by himself and his Mariachi Sol de Mexico.
And so we have included the entire song, El Rey de la Huasteca , at the end of the interview in this episode.

We speak about his restaurant, Cielito Lindo , which is located in South El Monte in Southern California -- mainly because of the unique performances that are hosted not only during the evenings, but also during Sunday brunches. Please go to the web site for Sol de Mexico for more information about their food in the Restaurant, and for the music on sale at "La tiendita."

There is a wealth of information about Jose Hernandez and his mariachis, restaurant and music at www.Mariachi-Sol.com

Thus, as soon as the episode is uploaded, evaulated, accepted, posted and available on iTunes, then there will also be a link in this blog for you to both listen immediately or download to your computer or mp3 player.

Again, thank you for your patience.
Note: music and photos displayed with permission from Hernandez Productions.

Episode 002 will be posting soon.
This will contain the interview of Jose Hernandez, creator and Director of the Mariachi Sol de Mexico (www.mariachi-sol.com ).
We will cover the following in the interview:
- Jose's musical training, background & experience;
- Jose's perspective on folklorico music from the Mariachi viewpoint;
- Jose's worldwide tours and what his Mariachi has brought to the International arena;
- Jose Hernandez and his creativity in music with George Harrison of the Beatles;
- Jose Hernandez and his Mariachi Sol de Mexico as entertainment at the White House;
- Jose Hernandez and his foundation to teach young people the Mariachi music;
- Jose Hernandez and his contribution of his songs to the Internet (e.g., MySpace.com)
We will also have 2 musical pieces in the podcast:
- the intro "Sol de Mexico" and
- the final number in entirety: "El Rey de la Huasteca"

The show notes for the upcoming episode will contain a wealth of links and graphics and explanations. Thank you for your patience in waiting for this worthwhile, quality interview.

Hasta pronto.

Well, it is finally over. In the past 2 weeks or so, we had a busy time:
(1) I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Jose Hernandez, the creator and director of the Mariachi Sol de Mexico (R). This interview investigated his past, present and future directions of his music and his mariachi in California. It also was delving into his perspectives of mariachi music in relation to folklorico music.
We will have about 2 or 3 future episodes, coming in late October and early November, with the full content of our discussion and his interview. Look for this in the upcoming episodes.

(2) We had the opportunity to represent our podcast as attendees to both the Podcast Academy 4 in Ontario, California, on 28 September 2006; and also at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo at the Ontario Convention Center on 29-30 September 2006.

- I want to thank Tee Morris, author of Podcasting for Dummies (tm) (from publisher Wiley), who is the podcaster of the companion podcast of the same name (available for free download and subscription from iTunes (R). Tee highlighted the portfolio of our podcast and the collateral packet with the CD and blog content to his audience on 30 September when he spoke to a large audience at one of the elective sessions of the Podcast and Portable Media Expo.

- I also had the chance to promote our podcast with other people in the Industry, so that the awareness of culture, education and entertainment (with podcasts like ours) grew and became apparrent. As a matter of fact, many education podcasters are extremely interested in our content and podcast.

The show notes for this entry contains the link from el Mariachi sol de Mexico:

www.mariachi-sol.com

and you may want to visit this link to fully appreciate our next 2 episodes, as we present to you the interesting and exciting interview with Jose Hernandez.

Thank you for your interest, and we will be back with a future audio episode within the next month, especially with the Jose Hernandez interview.