The Fandango Jarocho and the Jaranero Movement: a Historical Review

The fandango jarocho is a festive community event that includes music and dancing. Born of the blending of cultures, its roots run as deep as the colonial era. For the first half of the twentieth century, the fandango jarocho experienced a decline, and it was not until the eighties that a cultural movement, the Movimiento Jaranero, emerged with an interest in its research, dissemination, and revitalization. This article presents a historical review of the process of recuperation carried out by the movement, analyzing it as an articulation of society and state for the purpose of guaranteeing the fandango’s survival for future generations. Currently, as a result of the tension between past and present, both the fandango and son jarocho –the musical genre that sustains the practice– have found expressions in various cultural scenes, resulting in new styles as well as fusion with other musical genres.