On Saturday, November 19, the Annual NY Son Jarocho Festival concludes a week-long celebration of son jarocho— the music, dance, and culture of Veracruz, Mexico— with a full afternoon of performances at Flushing Town Hall from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Featuring a lineup of nine different ensembles, the headlining artists Caña Dulce y Caña Brava will end the program with a full set.
The Festival is a co-presentation by Flushing Town Hall and the Son Jarocho NY Collective and will feature an array of East Coast Son Jarocho groups: Son Pecadores, Jarana Beat, Soneros de City Lore, Efrén, Rojo Cascabel, Son Revoltura, Guachinangos, and the Ameyal Mexican Cultural Organization.
Son jarocho is a style of folk music that originated in Veracruz, Mexico. It has its roots in the Spanish migration during the colonial period, which brought sounds, rhythms, and instrumentation from the African Diaspora, Roma communities, and Arab populations of the Iberian Peninsula to Mexico, where they mixed with indigenous Mexican musical traditions. Son jarocho has continued evolving over a period of some 300 years. Today it enjoys followers around the world.
The concert from Mexican-based ensemble Caña Dulce y Caña Brava is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and offers a performance exhibiting the music, poetry, dance, and traditional attire of Veracruz, Mexico.
“We are delighted to showcase a sampling of Mexico’s musical artistry and rich history on our stage and to welcome audiences to enjoy son jarocho in Queens,” says Ellen Kodadek, Flushing Town Hall’s executive & artistic director. “Flushing Town Hall is proud to be New York’s home for global music, and we encourage New Yorkers of all backgrounds to join us for this fantastic Festival.”
Highlighting feminine poetry and voices, Caña Dulce y Caña Brava will take audiences on a voyage through multiple rhythms, accompanied by traditional string instruments such as the harp and the jarana, the zapateado (a percussive dance done on a wooden platform, considered the “heartbeat” of son jarocho), and poetic improvisation in rhyme. Offering an assortment of colors, textures and images to diverse and multi-generational audiences, the ensemble is defined by an original aesthetic that unites the traditional with the vanguard in a contemporary stage proposal. Since its formation in 2007, the group has carried the seal of feminine strength and beauty within the traditionally masculine world of Mexican son. The sounds of the strings interweave with the poetic messages written from a woman’s perspective, creating a facet not before seen within this musical genre. The group’s most recent album is Acentos (2019).
The band usually features Adriana Cao Romero Alcalá (harp and vocals), Raquel Palacios Vega (jarana and vocals), Alejandro Loredo Ramírez (requinto and jarana de arco, musical director, and luthier), Violeta Romero Granados (jarana, vocals, and zapateado), Anna Arismendez Gómez (guitarra grande and vocals), and collaborator Evelin Acosta López (poetry and improvisation).
The group’s performance begins on Saturday, November 19 at 1 PM. Tickets can be purchased here (In-Person Tickets: $15 General Admission/$12 Members, Seniors, & Students).
Additional events in the Annual Son Jarocho Festival to be hosted at Flushing Town Hall will include a series of Son Jarocho Workshops at 7:00 PM on November 15 and 16. Sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the workshops will be taught by Caña Dulce y Caña Brava group members for participants to learn Jarana, Leona, y Zapateado. A Spanish-language Son Jarocho Festival Panel Discussion sponsored by the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute will be held .on November 17 at 7:00 PM.
For the venue’s full schedule of 2022 Fall events, visit: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/events
COVID Policy:
Although as of March 7, 2022, New York City has relaxed its COVID policies for indoor arts and entertainment events, Flushing Town Hall will maintain its prior policy for the safety of its audiences, artists, and staff. This policy will remain in effect until further notice: Flushing Town Hall requires all visitors, performers, and staff to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 with matching identification. Additionally, masks will be required at all times. For more details on Flushing Town Hall’s Covid-safety measures and vaccine requirements, please visit: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety.
Support Global Arts with a Gift Today!
All gifts of $50 or more give you exclusive Flushing Town Hall Circle of Friends membership benefits including a Smithsonian membership, ticket discounts, and more! Donations in any amount are appreciated to support the artists and the nonprofit cultural organization as they continue to provide programming and entertainment across New York and the world.
https://www.flushingtownhall.org/circle-of-friends
Flushing Town Hall is a not for profit organization and receives major support in 2022 from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; New York State Assembly Member Ron Kim; The City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Laurie Cumbo; Queens Borough President Donovan Richards; The New York City Council, Speaker Adrienne E. Adams and New York City Council Members Sandra Ung, Tiffany Caban, Shekar Krishnan, Linda Lee, Vickie Paladino, Lynn Schulman, and Jessica Won; Howard Gilman Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, Guru Krupa Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.
To view current donor lists, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/donor-listings
About Flushing Town Hall
Flushing Town Hall (FTH), a Smithsonian affiliate, presents multi-disciplinary global arts that engage and educate the global communities of Queens and New York City in order to foster mutual appreciation. As advocates of arts equity since 1979, we support local, immigrant, national, and international artists, developing partnerships and collaborations that enhance our efforts. As a member of New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), we serve to restore, manage and program the historic 1862 landmark on behalf of the City of New York. FTH celebrates the history of Queens as the home of Jazz, by presenting the finest in Jazz performance. We are committed to arts education and hands-on learning, for the arts-curious, arts enthusiasts, and professional artists. We serve one of the most diverse communities in the world and strive to uphold the legacy of inclusiveness that has defined our community since the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657.
Flushing Town Hall is a proud member of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), a collective of 34 nonprofit museums, performing arts centers, historical societies, zoos, and botanical gardens across all five boroughs with a distinct private-public partnership with the City of New York and a commitment to serving all New Yorkers.
Land Acknowledgement:
Flushing Town Hall acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Matinecock People, one of the original tribes of New York, and the first people of Flushing, Queens. The Matinecock continue to live and work on this land to this day. Flushing Town Hall honors their elders who have stewarded this land throughout generations.
For more information:
(718) 463-7700 x222
137-35 Northern Blvd. Flushing, NY 11354
