The Plácido Otilia family is a Mexican family which specializes in the making of traditional musical instruments for the Huapango music of the

La Huasteca La Huasteca is a geographical and cultural region located partially along the Gulf of Mexico and including parts of the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Guanajuato. It is roughly defined as the area ...

region.(grandes) The family lives in Texquitote, Matlapa, San Luis Potosí and headed by patriarch Eustacio Plácido Otilia, an ethnic Nahua. The family produces mostly string instruments such as violins, jaranas, tiny guitars called mosquitos, ravelitos and quintas, known for the quality of the sound. They are particularly known for their

charango The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua and Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments were introduced by the Spanish during c ...

s, a guitar like instrument backed by an armadillo shell. Eustacio Plácido Otilia learned the craft from his father and has continued the tradition, teaching generations of his family as well as others in the community, giving classes at the local Juan Sarabia School. The family prefer to work with fine woods such as cedar, palo escrito and palo de rosa, matching the size of the raw wood to that of the finished product, in order to get the best sound. The family was named as “grand masters” by the Fomento Cultural

Banamex #redirect Grupo Financiero Banamex Grupo Financiero Banamex S.A. de C.V. has its origins and is the owner of the Banco Nacional de México or Citibanamex (formerly Banamex). It is the second-largest bank in Mexico. The Banamex Financial Group wa ...

in the 2000s. In 2010, Eustacio placed third in musical instruments at the XXXV Edición Gran Premio Nacional de Arte Popular Bicentenario 2010 sponsored by FONART and third in the same category at the Gran Premio de Arte Popular 2010 sponsored by

SEDESOL The Secretariat of Welfare ( Spanish: ''Secretaría de Bienestar'') is the government department in charge of social development efforts in Mexico. The Secretary of Welfare is a member of the Executive Cabinet, and is appointed at the discretion ...

and others. The latter award was for a “teponaxtle” a pre Hispanic instrument used during droughts to call rain in the San Luis Potosí part of the Huasteca region.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Placido Otilia family Mexican families People from San Luis Potosí Mexican musical instrument makers