Son huasteco is one of eight Mexican song styles and is a traditional Mexican musical style originating in the six state area of Northeastern Mexico called

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 ...

. It dates back to the end of the 19th century and is influenced by Spanish and indigenous cultures. Usually it is played by a '' Trio Huasteco'' composed of a guitarra quinta

huapanguera The huapanguera, guitarra quinta huapanguera or guitarra huapanguera is a Mexican guitar-like instrument that usually forms part of a conjunto huasteco ensemble, along with the jarana huasteca and violin. Because of its large body and deeper str ...

(a five course, eight stringed guitar-like instrument) a

Jarana huasteca The jarana huasteca, jarana de son huasteco or jaranita is a string instrument. It is most often called simply jarana. It is a guitar-like chordophone with 5 strings, tuned in thirds (low to high): G, B, D, F# and A. It has a range similar ...

(a stringed instrument related to the

jarana A jarana is a guitar-like string instrument from Mexico. There are different regional versions of the jarana, notably: * Jarana huasteca, string instrument of the Huastec region, Mexico * Jarana jarocha, string instrument of Veracruz, Mexico * Ja ...

) and a violin. Singers will often use the

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

register. The son huasteco is particularly noteworthy for its flamboyant and virtuoso violin parts, although the style varies from state to state. Footwork often danced to son huasteco is the Zapateado. Improvisation plays a strong role in the style, with musicians creating their own lyrics and arrangements to a standard repertoire. Typical ''sones huastecos'' are "''

Cielito Lindo "Cielito Lindo" is a popular Mexican song '' copla'', popularized in 1882 by Mexican author Quirino Mendoza y Cortés (c. 1862–1957). It is roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One". Although the word ''cielo'' means "sky" or "heaven", it is ...

''", "''La huazanga''", "''La sirena''", "''El querreque''" and "''La cigarra''".The Garland Handbook of Latin Music, Volume 1 By Dale Alan Olsen, Daniel Edward Sheeh, p. 190. Related genres are

Son Jarocho Son jarocho ("Veracruz Sound") is a regional folk musical style of Mexican Son from Veracruz, a Mexican state along the Gulf of Mexico. It evolved over the last two and a half centuries along the coastal portions of southern Tamaulipas state an ...

and

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

español.

References

Regional styles of Mexican music Mexican styles of music {{mexico-stub