Locally Toned in Mexico: Trio Jarocho, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo

Meet Trio Jarocho–Felipe Sosa on arpa, Alfonso Chavez on guitarra, and Genaro Vergara Rios on jarana.  Based in Cancun, they specialize in playing both popular and traditional music from the Veracruz region of Mexico. A group of friends, they’ve played fiestas, weddings and parties together for 25 years.

I heard them play as they strolled through the restaurant Pelicanos in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico, and, with the help of a very kind masero (waiter), put my best Spanish forward to ask them if they’d share their  lively music with Locally Toned.

Here is their Zapateado Ringtone–21 seconds long–a dance of Mexican Indian origin. As they warmed up, I also recorded Felipe Sosa’s Harpa (Harp) Message Alert.

The Trio also allowed me to record these two traditional songs, which I’ve uploaded as full-length tracks–El Torito (1 min 7 seconds), and Pajaro Cu (1 min 23 seconds). The tracks were so cheerful, and they played with such sustained energy, that I didn’t have the heart to cut (edit) them into a shorter ringtone format.

Heartfelt thanks to Felipe, Alfonso and Genaro of Trio Jarocho for sharing their ebullient music with Locally Toned. More images of Trio Jarocho, Pelicanos and Puerto Morelos follow.

Pelicanos, a Seaside restaurant in Puerto Morelos

T. Foley records Trio Jarocho, photo courtesy Scott Davidoff

Alfonso Chavez on guitarra

Genaro Vergara Rios on jarana

Felipe Sosa on arpa

Pelicanos’ ceviche and guacamole

Rain clouds roll in to Puerto Morelos

Como un sueño

This ringtone recording session was made possible by a generous grant from The Fine Foundation.

Locally Toned in Mexico: Mango Rico Truck Ringtone, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo

Another prevalent sound in Puerto Morelos (and many other parts of Mexico) is that of independent vendors using car-rigged PA Systems, bells, clanks, shouts, calls and whistles to announce the selling of their goods out of trucks, carts and off of bicycles. A kind of “free market” home delivery system that doesn’t require a household or individual to sign up with a company in advance, customers call out to or wave down neighborhood vendors as needed. This old-time peddling method provides an incredibly helpful and convenient service to busy families, elderly and less able-bodied folk.

Here’s a Mango Rico Truck Ringtone that I recorded one morning on Avenida Javier Rojo Gomez. In it, you’ll hear the sound of the vendor’s voice talking up his delicious fruit (“Mango Rico, Pina Rica”)  over his P.A. system, some birds chirping (and the faint sound of plates clinking within the courtyard at Casa Caribe).

My friend Tey Stiteler, who lives in Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico describes her neighborhood’s home delivery audio-acoustic environment this way:

“..there are a million of them–from the whistle and claps of the bread man to the perky ‘Zeta. Zeta. Zeta Gas!’ recording of the gas man, to the screw driver clanking on the metal handlebar of the ice cream man, to the doleful whistle of the camote-with-sweetened-condensed-milk man.”

I had to run to my balcony or the street every time I heard the Mango Rico Truck driver approach (to catch a passing photo of the vehicle and/or attempt to record the audio). I am sorry I was not able to meet the man, to take a portrait of him or tell him that I appreciated his vocal stylings and was including him in the project!

This ringtone recording session was made possible by a generous grant from The Fine Foundation.

Locally Toned in Mexico: Birdsong of Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo

Should you find yourself, as we did, in Puerto Morelos–a fishing village 30 minutes south of Cancun–you’re certain to hear the birdsong. I noticed it most prominently in the early morning when the birds were up singing with the sunrise. A palapa crow’s nest was situated on the roof adjacent to our hotel room, and I hid, tucked away from the birds, sitting on steps to record audio for this Birdsong Ringtone (Puerto Morelos). It includes various bird calls–my favorite sounds like a kind of sonar reverb, and it ends with a call my boyfriend described as a the “Muppet News Desk Alert.” I also exported a Trilling Birdsong Message Alert and a Squawking Birdsong Message Alert.

Here are a few images from our respite at Puerto Morelos, including a picture of the bird-themed tile that decorates the bathrooms at Casa Caribe.

This ringtone recording session was made possible by a generous grant from The Fine Foundation.