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| Trio Huasteco |
This could be called making a post out of whole cloth but it is a dreary northeast fall day with the prominent color being grey with intermittent dark grey patches. My old campus radio station is playing a Huapango....I've put it down in the Youtube at the bottom.
This is a classic example of understanding the music and not having a clue. I can put it together in my head but, as with many of us, I didn't take it any further. Just a few quick reads on the net and it all makes some sort of sense. It is exotic, vivid and poignant all at once and if I had the chance to conduct orchestras again, this simple read would make all the difference in how I would approach teaching the piece.
A cautionary tale for those of us who are too caught up in our own skill sets to take a simple step past what is easy. Take the time today to learn one new thing.
"The classical trio huasteco brings together a violin, a huapanguera and a jarana huasteca. The classical huapango is characterized by a complex rhythmic structure mixing duple and triple meters which reflect the intricate steps of the dance. When the players sing (in a duet, in a falsetto tone), the violin stops, and the zapateado (the rhythm provided by heels hitting the floor) softens . The huapango is danced by men and women as couples. A very popular huapango is El querreque, in which two singers alternate pert and funny repartees.
The zapateado is a group of dance styles of Mexico, characterized by a lively rhythm punctuated by the striking of the dancer's shoes, akin to tap dance. The name derives from the Spanish word zapato for "shoe": zapatear means to strike with a shoe. It is widely used in huapango, son jarocho, son jaliscience, son calentano.
The term is also used to refer to percussive footwork in some Spanish/Latin dances that involve elaborate shoe clicking and tapping and to the percussion music produced by shoe striking".