The St. John Mexican Fiesta

 

Every June on a Saturday, I go to a place that's outside of St. John Catholic School that's close to South Park, and that is the St. John's Mexican Fiesta.

It happens every year in the summer of June on the 22nd. The first time I’ve been there was when I went there with my friend Stephanie. We went there and got ourselves some tacos. I like mine with beef and cheese in them just like the ones from Taco Bell. When I eat a taco at the fiesta, it’s also like the kind you get at Taco John’s once awhile. This fiesta also does burritos and enchiladas too. It even serves desserts and many others. Oh, and did I mention they also serve confetti eggs? Now you do. You crack them on your head though.

That time was when I got to meet Dylan and Kaitlin at the Mexican Fiesta. When we got to mess around and have some fun, Kaitlin and I cracked confetti eggs on each of our heads. It was a blast when we all got together that summer. I even got to go to the Mexican Fiesta the past summer with my dad that time when I took him there for a special time. He thought it would be too crowded to go there during that time of year, he kinda liked it. But I really loved it a lot, and I’ll be planning on going back there the following summer. And this time, I’ll be inviting my friends with me to this party here at St. John’s. I might need to call them up though and plan that. Say, this also reminds me of something during this time there.

I remember when they played the Cupid Shuffle there at the Mexican Fiesta. The band was playing their music and then the Cupid Shuffle was playing as everyone was dancing. That was cool! In this fiesta, it’s always a party there. And speaking of which, St. John also has a dance party there and everyone’s invited.

Everyone even did a little slow dancing and did some mariachi line dancing too. I wonder what else St. John’s fiesta will have for next summer. I’ll soon find out.

So hear me out on this one and bear with me. The next time I go to St. John’s Mexican Fiesta, I’ll do some special DJing for the partygoers there as I play some Spanish music of their choice. Latin hip hop, reggaeton, Los Lonely Boys, a couple songs from Texas Tornados, La Bamba, the Macarena, Mariachi music, Latin Pop, Chicano rock, and even my favorite music. That will be also cool and then I can introduce them to a live band and they’ll play for them too.

I would also imagine playing the music from The Casagrandes also for the fiesta.

Okay, now let me give you the info on how the Mexican Fiesta at St. John’s was originated.  How did it begin in Lawrence?

It first started in 1980 as an effort to raise money for St. John's Church and then the “blue collar” needs of St. John’s School, the Fiesta has grown into a party for the whole city. From its beginnings with a boom box and shared food dishes in the basement, it now fills the St. John’s parking lot all day and features plenty of conversation, live Mexican folk dancing, several thousand tamales, and a whole lot of beer. It maintains its family flair, though, as the network of organizers are second or third-generation family members. Young adults who saw their parents and grandparents give hours to this cause now take their turn. Many of the original families, in turn, had bonded through living at La Yarda, the living quarters by the East Lawrence railroad tracks provided for them by the Santa Fe Railroad. The Fiesta now provides funding for the St. John’s school Spanish language program as well as scholarships for young Mexican students who wish to pursue education beyond high school.

And as always, you can experience Lawrence’s favorite block party every year in the summer when the Fiesta unfurls June 22nd on Saturday.

I can’t wait to come back to Lawrence again and enjoy the Mexican Fiesta right here at St. John’s this summer. I’d relive the good times there and do it again.

I really love the dancers in the Fiesta because they’re really serenading. And just so you know, the Fiesta is an annual event celebrating the diversity and appreciation of the Mexican American culture within the Lawrence community. When started as a simple fundraiser has grown into a large orchestrated event that required more than 300 volunteers and is attended by thousands of people. Proceeds from the Fiesta fund a Spanish language program at St. John’s School and a scholarship fund for post secondary education to Mexican youth in Lawrence.

How’s that for cool!

Now when I’m finally back in Lawrence, I’ll check out the Mexican Fiesta once again at St. John’s school during summer time.

My favorite part of this summer event is the confetti eggs because they’re fun to play with and crack them in the head. You can never have too much confetti on your head. I also love the good Mexican food because I enjoy it during dinner. The Fiesta also has plenty of games and live entertainment there.

Now here’s some things that I remember watching. First up is a presentation on video. There was this Sesame Street video I saw on my VCR one time, and that one’s called ‘Fiesta’. There’s laughter, learning, and music in both English and Spanish. I really love the part with the Queen bee costume Maria was wearing. Pretty festive, I’ll bet Buzzy would see that.

The special guests were Celia Cruz and Linda Ronstandt joining in the fun.

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I also remember the Conga by Gloria Estefan that played on an episode of Sesame Street.

When I first heard that song on the radio, it kinda made me feel so energetic as I started dancing. But when the song first started playing on an episode of Sesame Street, I couldn’t believe it. This dance was the most incredible line dancing I’ve ever seen in my life. Well done to that! Great song!

Another great song and dance I remember listening to was on Elmopalooza and also had Gloria Estefan who even danced the mambo. Pretty cool too, huh.

There’s also a dance that you might’ve never heard of before, and maybe you can give this one a listen though.

Have you even heard of the song from the documentary film 'Hecho En Mexico' before? This one is called "¿Quién Lleva los Pantalones?" It's a song straight out of Mexico and it's mad festive.

This audio from YouTube will prove it to you.

It's a documentary film directed by Duncan Bridgeman and it includes interviews with people such as with Diego Luna, Lila Downs and others who are in an exploration of Mexico's rich musical heritage. I've been learning about Mexico for a long time when I was at the public library, and I agree. This movie has plenty of things Mexico has to offer, including fiestas and festivals. And it's really fun too. For those of you who are interested in watching this movie, this one's for you. It has music, feeling, and dreams. I hope that this one will help too.

Now let's talk about Son jarocho music.

(In English, "Veracruz Sound")

Did you know that son jarocho is a regional folk musical style of Mexican Son from Veracruz? It's a Mexican state along the Gulf of Mexico. I've heard of this genre once when I was using Microsoft Encarta on my computer. And you know what I think? It's really festive and ceremonial. Makes me wanna party! Son jarocho has evolved over the last two and a half centuries along the coastal portions of southern Tamaulipas state and Veracruz state, hence the term jarocho, a colloquial term for people or things from the port city of Veracruz. The genre combines elements from indigenous, Baroque music from Southern Spain and the Western African music of slaves taken to the Caribbean reflecting the population which evolved in the region from Spanish colonial times. It is closely related to several other genres in 6/8 metric which appeared throughout Hispanic America from the 17th to the 19th century; such as the Cuban son, the Venezuelan joropo and the Chilean cueca.

The instruments most commonly associated with son jarocho are the jarana jarocha, a small guitar-like instrument used to provide a harmonic base, with some double strings arranged in a variety of configurations; the requinto jarocho, another small guitar-like instrument plucked with a long pick traditionally made from cow-horn, usually tuned to a higher pitch and with a four or five thick nylon strings; the diatonic arpa jarocha; the leona, a type of acoustic bass guitar, and sometimes a minor complement of percussion instruments such as the pandero, 

the quijada or the guiro. Some groups add the marimbol, a plucked key box bass, and the cajón, (although the Peruvian version, not the Mexican cajón de tapeo).

The most widely known son jarocho is "La Bamba", which has been popularized through the version by Ritchie Valens and the American movie of the same name. Other famous sones jarochos are "El Coco" and "La Iguana" and "El Cascabel", all of which have a call and response form, and "El Chuchumbé", "La Bruja".

Related genres include son huasteco, huapango, son jaliscience, and son chiapaneco.

Well-known artists playing the genre include Conjunto Hueyapan, Mono Blanco, Siquisirí, Tlen Huicani, Chuchumbé, Chucumite, Son de Madera, and Los Cojolites, the first Son Jarocho group to be nominated for a Grammy Award. Wow, that's a really exciting music genre! And if you're anything like the movie "La Bamba", then you remember the song originally from Ritchie Hawkins. Los Lobos did that song too you know.

Okay. So now you know the musical genre of son jarocho and the info on the St. John’s Mexican Fiesta in Lawrence. Oh yeah, and if you’d like to know more on planning our next trip to the Mexican Fiesta at St. John and wanna invite me to join the party, let me know on the comments. Also if you like the music of son jarocho and how to learn about it, feel free to also let me know about it too. Lois Orth-Lopes, this one goes to you too. Maybe you can help me out my next educational video project just like the one I did on Bolivia and Peru in Countries Around The World.

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Well in the meantime, I think that’s about it for today. Check back later for the next story on the Lawrence Kansas Monthly Blog. Catch you later.

Adios amigos!