Storying Son Jarocho Fandango

Book excerpt: What happens when Chicanx students’ educational experiences are shaped by the activation of ancestral worlds? Born of songs like La Bamba, oral traditions, call and response practices, body as an instrument, and embodying ecologies, the authors posit son jarocho fandango (SJF) methodologies as a tool of convivencia/conviviality, communal healing, positive identity formation, and agency. Against the backdrop of white settler colonialism, members of the intergenerational Son Xinachtli Collective formed across two U.S.–Mexican border states and two ethnic studies university courses. The Collective follows the tradition of the SJF decolonial movement, positioning SJF as an ancestral elder of the African diasporic, Mexican Indigenous, Spanish, and Arabic traditions—whose threat of extinction sparked a cultural revitalization. The survival of SJF and its ancestral worlds supersedes the ruptures of colonialism. From ethnic studies classroom practices to organizing SJF in the community, this work highlights the possibilities of nurturing co-liberation. Book Features: Offers an historical and contemporary example of culturally sustaining practices embraced by Chicanx and Indigenous communities. á Focuses on son jarocho fandango as a pedagogy and methodology in schools, not just an art form. Shows how culturally sustaining pedagogy works in a postsecondary setting to center ethnic and cultural practices within the curriculum. Describes an action research project that can be used with high school students to meet ethnic studies and graduation requirements. Interweaves student learning, ethnic studies pedagogies, teacher education, curriculum development, and civic engagement. Includes visuals that provide the aesthetic of experiencing son jarocho fandango movement.