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Traditional or Commercial believe the largest and most pertinent to this page is; what happens to traditional music and dance when it is removed from its' place of birth and life? The article references three places (or ways) to experience traditional or folk forms of music and dance: 1) participating in recreational events such as organized weekly clubs or classes, 2) attending or participating in professional or semi-professional performances, 3) being in the actual place in which the tradition is rooted. Having over the years participated in all three of these venues, I have some ideas about them - though hardly the last word. I believe that it is generally accepted that folk forms serve one or both of two functions; social and religious. In general, dances done at recreational events are of a social nature in their origins. To the extent that recreational dancing is social with folks interacting and participating, these dances are actually performing their intended function. As a piece in El Mitote (issue 1, November 1996) points out "...many of the dances of Mexico actually have very humble beginnings...many more were nothing more than dancing as they wanted to (and could) to the music...." So as the participants are interpreting the dances as they feel and understand them, this too full fills the traditional role of social dance. Some codifying of dances and hat tipping to styling would certainly fall within the idea that every location has traditions including recreational dancing. Folks participating in these events are rarely convinced that they are actually in some Totonac village fiesta. When we enter the professional realm the discussion is fraught with contradiction. The piece in El Mitote goes on to read "... then the ones from the big towns came and choreographed and artistized (and some say distorted) them and called them done...”. Staged social dances are exactly as presented in El Mitote - an often beautifully finished product, preserved in a crystal box, devoid of the possibilities (read surprises) that real life interactions provide. This in itself might not be so bad so long as everyone understands that the exhibition is staged and is conforming to some of the strictures of presentation. Indeed the Ballet Folkloric community claims that it is presenting and preserving the folkloric traditions in just this way. And I agree, we are preserving "traditions". But my question is; are we aware of what traditions (exactly) we are preserving? So you will understand where I am coming from, I have loved the ballet folklorico form of the music and dance from southern Veracruz since I was a dancer with Los Lupenos in the late 70's. Recently I have been living, dancing, and playing jarana in San Andreas Tuxtla, Veracruz. Because of these unique experiences I am going to use Son Jarocho as the tool to examine this idea of "preserving traditions" which we talk and argue about so incessantly. As Son Jarocho is a social form, if we are preserving "the traditions", then what we present should logically be the social traditions. So let us imagine a quadro, performed by 5 couples on stage, the son is La Morena, the taped conjunto is a jarana, guitarra del son and a large harp. The program notes talk about the hot port, the tropical flowers, and say that what we are about to experience are the vibrant dance and music folk traditions of the smiling people of southern Veracruz who are called Jarochos. Now let's examine these said traditions. Where's the tarima? Where I've been, the tarima is so essential to the dance that without one there won't be a fandango. Why are there 5 couples? Except for some rare 2 couple dances, there is never more than one couple. And perhaps more importantly, why are there couples? La Morena is a son de mujer. And why are those women all wearing that elegant and expensive traje of the upper classes of the last century - this music is abajena - the rich were all doing waltzes. And why are all the traje identical - no woman wants to be seen wearing the exact same thing as her neighbor. And why is everyone dancing exactly the same? I've never seen that at any social dance. Let’s forget that the music is taped - though the "folk tradition" calls for live music. But why is the music being played in minor when this son traditionally is played in major? And why is the harp a large stand-up one when the traditional harp is smaller? And why is there a harp? In Veracruz there is a harp tradition, but in fandango the harpists usually change to jaranas because of the dancers. And when the tape breaks, why do those folks keep dancing? In real life people usually stop when the music does. There is a logical answer to these and the many other discrepancies between what we are presenting and the "folk tradition". The answer is that this is a theatrical event and therefore must conform to the conventions, influences, appeals and traditions of mass entertainment and marketing. Each of the "traditions” presented is new. Each has come about in the last fifty years. They have appeared as part of the commercialization of the son in Veracruz. Indeed, this new collection of traditions is a branch of son called "Son Commercial". These changes have appeared in order to appeal to a larger, more sophisticated and prosperous buying public that is not accustomed to the very unpolished and humble sounds of the country folk. A clear, quick comparison can be obtained by listening to the excellent anthology "SON de México" and any Lino Chavez record. As a matter of fact, Son Commercial is so far removed from its' folk roots that it is almost ludicrous to reference those roots when speaking of it. I wish to stress that like anyone else I love going to Boca del Rio, eating camarones and buying sones and dances. However, this is not the same as riding a horse out to a rancho and playing and dancing for the Virgin - which I love even more. The operative word here is buying. I can buy sones because someone is selling them, it is a business - honorable - but a business. One of my best friends is the harp player for one of the conjuntos that play the portales in the port of Vera Cruz. He taught himself to play harp and then convinced his brother to learn jarana so they could play the portales. This is a job for them and they will play whatever you want (La Bamba, Jarabe Tapatio, You Belong To Me) if you pay for it. Change in folk forms generally comes about because of changes within the community, while change in commerce is influenced by the needs and desires of a buying public. Son Commercial is aimed at a population that is outside of the traditional community and so it has been substantially modified to appeal to that population. Many of the Commercial musicians and dancers can not dance or play in fandango and vis versa most of the fandangeros can't play Commercial. There are now "two traditions": one participated in by the people (a living, vital, slowly evolving folk form) and the other a performance extravaganza (staged, performed, and modified by professionals). It is my belief that to a greater or lesser degree this creation of new, commercially more viable traditions exists in all the regions that have been defined and codified for professional presentation. We do no one any favors - ourselves or the public - pretending
that what we are exhibiting are the "folk" traditions. The folk and
the commercial have distinct functions and traditions and except in some
very far distant ways, they really have very little in common. They
may both have their place and both are very beautiful: but please, let's
stop confusing one for the other.
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Copyright © 1996 by Instituto Cultural "Raices Mexicanas" & David Rojas- All Rights Reserved. These pages may not be used for financial gain, commercial collections or compilations without express permission from the author. For information contact David Rojas (805) 683-3036 or e-mail david@rojas.com