Episode 15 - El Huapango and the Huasteca Region

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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.