ON THE RIVER’S SHORE…HISTORY AND ETHNICITY IN THE TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF THE HACIENDAS OF HUACANA AND ZACATULA

Abstract

The objective of this article is the study of the traditional music that flowered during the colonial period in the interior of the great cultural region located between the states of Michoacan and Guerrero on the shores of the Balsas River in the deserts. In this region, the majority of the land fell within the boundaries of the haciendas, or country estates, of Huacana and Zacatula. The area was isolated and the population was scarce, with ranching being the primary form of activity of the African slaves, indigenous people and those of mixed bloodlines. The interethnic relationships were framed by the relationship of the owner of the hacienda with his peons. In this context the fiesta represented a microcosmic social interaction, where the distinctions between Europeans, Africans, Chinese and indigenous people were interrelated in a new form of communication, and those who knew how to play music, dance and sing were essential to the fiesta.