BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The longest day of the year will begin with a morning celebration filled with "Fandango Veracruzano" performances that honor the spiritual traditions, music and dance from Veracruz, Mexico.
Hearthsong Folk Arts will hold its "El Dia de San Juan," a communal song and dance gathering at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 21 inside Charles A. Smith Ice House, 56 River St.
Tickets, based on a sliding-scale fee, are $10-$20.
The celebration will feature music with Colombian guitarist Carlos Cuestas and Philadelphia-based Mexican group Son Revoltura (with Erika Guadalupe Nuñez).
Summer solstice officially arrives at 10:42 p.m. Friday, June 20.
Hearthsong Folk Arts is a nonprofit founded in 2024 and dedicated to addressing cultural loss, apathy and social isolation.
"What we do is look into different traditions that exist in all different global folk cultures," Hearthsong Executive Director Fiona Gillespie said.
"It is less about the high sort of classic art, and instead the folk art, dance, craft, music and ritual."
St. John the Baptist, fandangos
As Gillespie explained, cultural rituals are associated with the changing of seasons.
For instance, in South America, Spain and Latin America, the summer solstice traditions coincide with El Día de San Juan, the birthday of St. John the Baptist, which is celebrated on June 24.
"The musical style is a fusion of Spanish, indigenous, and African cultures, and they are often impromptu performances in churches, gyms, and outdoor spaces."Fiona Gillespie, Hearthsong Folk Arts
In Veracruz, Mexico, the start of summer also marks the state's wet season.
It is a time when son jarochos performers do zapateado dances, which involve stomping on a raised wooden tarima, or platform, during the fandangos.
"A fandango is a party and music gathering for the community," Gillespie said. "The musical style is a fusion of Spanish, indigenous and African cultures, and they are often impromptu performances in churches, gyms, and outdoor spaces."
At Saturday's gathering, Son Revoltura will conduct a fandango using a small eight-string jaranda, a type of guitar, along with other string and percussion instruments.
They also will lead a dance workshop for attendees with Cuestas, who lives in New York City.
Cuentes, a friend of Gillespie, helped organize the event.
At the City University of New York's Graduate Center, Cuentes, a classical guitarist, has studied the cultural and environmental effects of son jarocho, a style of music native to Veracruz.
"My understanding is that it's very of the people in the sense that they are not professional musicians, yet they know the songs and play with instruments native to Veracruz," Gillespie said.
Resistance through art
Son Revoltura is a group of Philadelphia Jaraneros formed in 2015 by Ximena Violante and Yared Portillo as a way to honor the folk music traditions of son jarocho.
They often perform at political rallies, protests and educational and cultural events such as Philly's Día de los Muertos celebration in November.
“One of the things that initially drew me to son jarocho was that it seemed to be a powerful music of resistance."Philadelphia Jaraneros member Yared Portillo
“One of the things that initially drew me to son jarocho was that it seemed to be a powerful music of resistance," Portillo toldTheWorld.org in 2017.
"Its historical [and current] use of indigenous and African elements in a space that was demandingly European has always seemed to me a radical act of resistance through art and existence."
In the past decade, Son Revoltura has grown to more than 20 members, including children and seniors.
In September, Hearthsong's autumn equinox celebration at the Ice House will feature a performance with Nora Suggs.
Suggs will honor the traditions of Japan with traditional Japanese Shakuhachi music.
For more information about the seasonal events, visit Hearthsong Folk Art's website.
