Fandango!!! Muddy Waters

The spirit of community and celebration was shared last night on December 6th, for Muddy Waters' second ever fandango gathering. Jorge Mijangos, master luthier, renowned for his work involving the sonjarocho culture along with his south coast jarrana construction business, has introduced this event to the Eastside Latino community, but not limiting others to join into the cultural festivities. Along with This Muddy Waters event, Jorge currently works in various elementary schools, as well as Casa De La Raza, teaching sonjarocho to a young generation. People gathered from near and far to make this event possible. The night was filled with the art of Sonjarocho, a vibrant folk music and dance style originating from Veracruz, Mexico, beginning with Jorge's students from Peabody school introducing the fandango with their 2 song performance. With only 7 lessons these students performed for the first time in front of family and friends (The sound was amazing!). And so the fandago begins! The strumming of the jarranas, requintos, donkey jaw, and box drum initiated dancing, singing and collaborating to create the heavenly sound of this art. There were no age restrictions, as people young and oldtook the small wooden stage to dance while the others sang and rejoiced. Dancing was completely voluntary, but as the night went on, new faces took the stage putting aside their embarrassment and taking in the traditional joy. For those who weren't up dancing, were going along well with the rhythm, tapping their feet, snapping their fingers, clapping their hands, and singing along to the "guacamayo". Joining the performers and people who gathered to watch was Juan Francisco Parroquin, grandson of Rutilio Parroquin, a legendary figure in the sonjarocho culture. Juan participated in the group jam session for a large portion of the night, showing off his style on the requinto, and singing to the audience. The history behind the Parroquin family traces back to Mexican history books, presidential photographs and most apparently, music. In recent times, Juan Parroquin has been an apprentice to Jorge Mijangos, learning to construct his own instrument, connecting Jorge, originally from Chiapas, Mexico, to Juan, legendary blood of sonjarocho history. With this in mind, the incorporation of Mexican culture in Santa Barbara such as sonjarocho is showing change in the dynamics of the community, not only here, but up and down the southern coast of California. As the night was coming to an end, I took a turn on the dace floor, a bit unsure, but fully enjoying the experience. It came to a close with a last song, and some time to speak with participants, and people exchanging comments and feelings of impact.