Vaquerias originated in haciendas. After the cattle was rounded up and branded, women catered to the hacienda owner’s guests and their wives and, towards the end of the feast, they danced to tunes which sprung from the mutual influence of Mayan and Spanish music.
Vaquerias are held to honor the patron saint of a hacienda or a village and they usually last three days and four nights. On a set day, a jarana orchestra composed of some ten or twelve musicians play their way into the village, stirring up excitement among the inhabitants as the bangs of “voladores” (fire crackers) fill the space. |
