We are very pleased to be part of “Son Jarocho, The Sounds of Veracruz” on NPR along with the David Wax Museum and other bands inspired by son jarocho in the U.S.A. Our track “Los Jaraneros” from our latest record “Café Café” was used as an introduction for the show and to set the appropriate tone for the program. Enjoy it here!
Radio Jarocho was thrilled to perform a standing-room only show at the Kennedy Center on September 16, 2012! We were honored to play songs from Café Café at Washington’s top performing arts center. Couldn’t be there with us? Watch the video of the performance!
The night before, we celebrated Mexico’s Independence with a concert for the Mexican Embassy at the Organization of Americans States. Check out pictures from both shows (photos by Carin Zissis):
In an August 8 report for New York’s Daily News, José Manuel Simían covers Radio Jarocho’s new release, describing Café, Café as “a vibrant collection of 10 songs with deep foundations in son jarocho while also containing elements of other genres.” The article talks about RJ’s collaborations with other musicians, such as Rana Santacruz and Patricio Hidalgo, and how one track has a surprising inspiration–The Beatles’ “Revolution.”
Click the image to read the article.
Thank you to our friend Roy Germano (director of The Other Side of Immigration) for filming our May 2012 set at Casa Mezcal. Watch the video for clips of us performing some of our new tracks, as well as son jarocho classics “Colas” and “La Bamba,” with guest musicians Rana Santacruz, Akoko Nante, and Greg Glassman of the David Wax Museum.
Listen up! Here’s a new interview with Radio Jarocho’s Julia del Palacio and Gabriel Guzmán on “The World,” a weekly radio show co-produced by Public Radio International, the BCC, and WGBH/Boston. The segment, called “Global Hit,” includes clips from the new album as the band talks about the tradition of son jarocho and why they chose to record an album of original songs. You can hear Bruce Wallace’s report “An Urban Twist to Son Jarocho Music” above or read more here.
The release of Café Café packed the house at Casa Mezcal in Manhattan’s Lower East Side on May 18! It was an honor to have such fantastic guest musicians join us for the party, including the original ranchero punk Rana Santacruz, Queens-based African drum ensemble Akoko Nante, Greg Glassman of the David Wax Museum, and jarana player extraordinaire Dionisia Montañez. Thank you to all the fans, friends, and family who helped us celebrate this special event.
Couldn’t make it? No problem. Check us out at our next live show or listen to Café Café on bandcamp–or right here.
Images by Carin Zissis.
Spread the word! Our new album Café Café is out now. Get it on iTunes, Amazon, or Bandcamp. Or join us at one of our performances and hear the tracks live.
So…what are people saying about the new release?
“I haven’t heard something this sexy in a night club in a really long time,” says NPR Music Alt.Latino‘s Jasmine Garsd about the the title track. The program praises the song for its “edgy attitude.”
“The rhythmic instrumental and vocal interplay is top-notch, as the lilting percussion and jarana, requinto, punteador, leona, marimbal, and zapateado take center-stage. The ten tracks are evocative, mesmerizing,” writes Matthew Forss for Inside World Music.
“This New York based band mine flinty traditional Mexican jarocho music, then fracture it through a modern sensibility of their own,” says Daily News‘ Jim Farber for his weekly Top Ten in music column.
“With this album, Radio Jarocho is the only current band to record a full album of original compositions and nontraditional songs in this genre. Café Café sums up the sounds that have influenced the band such as traditional jarocho songs, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and pop sensibilities,” says the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York’s La Vitrina, calling Radio Jarocho “the preeminent son jarocho band on the East Coast.”
“Radio Jarocho is leading the way in preserving and expanding son jarocho…” – Alex Brown, Splinters & Candy.
New York Music Daily blog calls Radio Jarocho a “high-energy acoustic Mexican folk-punk band.”
“While you won’t hear another cover of ‘La Bamba’ on this disc, you will hear the title track with its quick-fire vocals and the slightly slower ‘La Tristeza’ and ‘Morena es la Virgen,’” says the Whole Music Experience. “However, the spirited ‘Se ve que sabes bailar’ with soaring vocals harmonizing with the quick tempo vocals will definitely grab your attention.
The blog My World Music Friend says: “Café Café preserves the fine tradition of son jarocho thanks to a group of young talented musicians“.
Daily News‘ Jim Farber’s on his Top Ten in Music writes for the second time about Radio Jarocho and says: “The woody, string-happy, sound of son jarocho — indigenous to the Mexican town of Veracruz — gets a personal make-over here. Radio Jarocho puts original twists to traditional Mexican folk songs”.
Tespis Magazine praises the Café Café release party and says: “Grupos como Radio Jarocho aportan una nueva vena que enriquece nuestra cultura común“.(Groups like Radio Jarocho contribute with a new vein that enriches our common culture).
Chris Spector from Midwest Record writes: “For a taste of real Mexico that might be fading into history (haven’t been back in years), check this out while it’s still played by players who have a pulse connected with the original sound“.
Image by Sergio Reyes.
“I haven’t heard something this sexy in a night club in a really long time,” says NPR Music’s Alt.Latino co-host Jasmine Garsd, speaking about the title track from Radio Jarocho’s Café Café. The program praised the song for its “edgy attitude.” Garsd added: “I love the lyrics.”
We’re thrilled to be featured on NPR! Listen to more of what NPR’s Alt.Latino has to say about the band — along with a clip from the track “Café Café” — in the show’s Cinco de Mayo special.
It’s here! The CD version of our new album Café Café has arrived. The 10-track album was co-produced by Grammy Award-winner Alex Venguer and, on top of nine original songs, features a version of “Bemba y Tablao” with son jarocho legend Patricio Hidalgo. We’ll officially release Café Café on May 12 with a launch fiesta at Casa Mezcal, where we’ll be joined by special guests. Can’t join the party? We’ve got a ton of shows coming up, so check our tour page for upcoming performances.
You may have already heard us on Pacifica Radio’s Global Village. If you missed it, we invite you to preview–and pre-order–the album on bandcamp.
Ya esta aquí! La versión en CD de nuestro nuevo album Café Café ha llegado. El album con 10 temas fue co-producido por Alex Venguer ganador del Grammy, y además de nueve canciones originales, contiene una versión de “Bemba y Tablao” junto a la leyenda del son jarocho Patricio Hidalgo. Vamos a lanzar oficialmente Café Café el 12 de mayo con una fiesta en Casa Mezcal donde tendremos invitados especiales. No puedes venir a la fiesta? Tenemos más shows en los próximos dias así que checa nuestra página para más presentaciones.
Quizás ya nos escuchaste en Pacifica’s Radio Global Village. Si te lo perdiste, te invitamos a oir y ordenar nuestro album en bandcamp.
The countdown is on! The cover art is done. The CD is getting pressed. And we’re less than a month away from the release of our new album Café Café. Out May 12, it features nine original songs, including the title track, “Conga Libre,” and “La Tristeza,” plus a lively rendition of “Bemba y Tablao” performed with son jarocho legend Patricio Hidalgo.
We can’t wait to share this long-awaited release with you, our fans, at the CD release party! So join us May 12 at Casa Mezcal‘s Obra Negra (85 Orchard Street, NY, NY) to hear the tracks live, come to the fandango, and celebrate with us. We’re excited to welcome special musical guests, so stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks…
La cuenta regresiva ha comenzado! El arte del disco esta hecho. El CD está siendo prensado. Y estamos a menos de un mes del lanzamiento de nuestro nuevo album Café Café. Disponible el 12 de mayo, este contiene nueve temas originales incluyendo la canción que da nombre al disco, “Conga Libre” y “La Tristeza”, además de una vigorosa interpretación de “Bemba y Tablao” junto a la leyenda del son jarocho Patricio Hidalgo.
No podemos esperar más para compartir este disco con todos ustedes. Así que acompañanos el 12 de mayo en Obra Negra de Casa Mezcal (85 Orchard Street, NY, NY) para escuchar los temas en vivo, ver al fandango, y celebrar con nosotros. Estamos muy emocionados de contar con invitados especiales para tal ocasión asi que esten pendientes para mas información en los próximos dias…
In September of 2011, we started a successful series of son jarocho workshops. We teach our classes in our studio in Brooklyn. Here are the schedules:
Zapateado: Tuesdays: 6-7:15 p.m.
Zapateado: Fridays: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Jarana: Fridays: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
We have a wonderful group of students which keeps growing and with whom we practice every week the classic fandango repertoire of songs. Please contact us if you want to join in. Only $10 per class!
Image by Sergio Reyes.
We were thrilled to perform with our friends of Akכkכ Nante at Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook on February 17. This Queens-based band plays rhythms from Ghana, Nigeria, Haiti, and more. They joined us onstage for a rendition of one our new songs, “Conga Libre” and we hope we get the chance to play with them again. Check out some images from the performance–and the fandango that followed–and thanks to everyone who came out to hear us play.
Images by Carin Zissis.
It was an honor to perform with el maestro Patricio Hidalgo in a number of New York City venues in December 2011, including at this show in the Lower East Side’s Casa Mezcal. Hailing from Minatitlan in Veracruz, Patricio has been performing for decades with ensembles such as Mono Blanco and Chuchumbe, and is arguably the most prominent contemporary son jarocho composer today. He’s brought back the conga rhythms through his latest AfroJarocho project.
We are pleased that he joined us in the recording of our version of his composition “Bemba y Tablao,” which will appear on our upcoming album, coming out Spring 2012. Watch a video our performance with Patricio at Manos de Mexicanos.
Images by Carin Zissis.
Via KeyLimeSteve: “Manos de Méxicanos opened its doors. Dedicated to the preservation of an endangered species (Mexican artisanos), Manos was gifted with an appearance by Patricio Hidalgo, famed son jarocho musician from Veracruz Mexico, accompanied by Radio Jarocho, New York’s preeminent son jarocho group.”
Click here to learn more about Manos de Méxicanos in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NYC.
Check out these pictures by Jack Hirschon of Radio Jarocho perfoming at Jalopy Theatre’s Fifth Anniversary Celebration in October 2011.
Here is an interesting documentary about the band for the CUNY-TV series Nueva York. We had a great time shooting it in New York and in Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz in Mexico.
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