Son Mexicano Essentials

Charged with defiant delivery and a huge heart, son is at the crux of Mexican folklore, a vibrant, bare-bones sound that's been present throughout the country's most iconic historical moments. A cross between Spanish baroque and indigenous rhythms, the mestizo art form rose to prominence during the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s—amid war, rebellion, and a thriving cultural renaissance made famous by avant-garde painters, musicians, and poets. Son blooms in myriad variations between territories. Veracruz is home to son jarocho, as heard in the fandangos of Los Cojolites; Trio Huasteco of La Huasteca region are the torchbearers of son huasteco. Hailing from Guadalajara, Jalisco, son jalisciense—which eventually evolved to mariachi—flourished thanks to Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, a world-renowned group that's been around for generations. And contemporary artists including folk revivalist Lila Downs from Oaxaca have been adding alternative approaches to the raw and rustic rhythms since the ‘90s.