Los Fresnanitos is a Fresno-based collective of artists, educators, and cultural workers who engage with son jarocho not only as a musical tradition, but as a living practice rooted in communal memory, improvisation, and resistance. Their work exemplifies how traditional arts can serve as both cultural continuity and creative intervention in contemporary life.

The members of Los Fresnanitos come from diverse artistic and academic backgrounds, including visual arts, dance, and science. What unites them is a shared commitment to collective learning and cultural expression through son jarocho, a centuries-old tradition from Veracruz, Mexico. Group members like Mauro Carrera and Verónica Chávez emphasize the importance of intergenerational dialogue and shared authorship. For them, this musical expression is a dynamic and participatory practice where improvisation—through music, poetry, and dance—becomes a vehicle for storytelling and social commentary.

In the context of California’s Central Valley, a region shaped by agricultural labor, migration, and environmental inequities, Los Fresnanitos see son jarocho as a tool for re-rooting identity and cultivating belonging. Their version of “La Bamba,” commissioned for the Canciones del San Joaquín concert, includes verses about local ecologies, vanishing rivers, and the laboring histories of the valley. The composition was built collaboratively, with each member contributing to the lyrics, reflecting a shared vision of place and purpose.

Los Fresnanitos are building cultural infrastructure where little existed before, using traditional music as a way to convene communities, foster curiosity across generations, and open space for joy, critique, and renewal. Their work underscores how folk practices—when nurtured in contemporary settings—can offer aesthetic experiences with ethical and political frameworks for imagining a more just and interconnected world.