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122-532: The area in which Papantla is found has been dominated by a number of pre-Hispanic cultures. The first known is that of the Olmec , with the Huastecs coming afterward. Evidence of these cultures can be found at nearby archeological sites such as Cempoala, El Tajin, San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes. The settlement was founded around 1200, by various groups of Totonacs, some of whom migrated here after being pushed south by

244-552: A Pueblo Mágico in 2006. However, the process was temporarily suspended. Problems to be resolved included the large number of street peddlers, the need to bury telephone and electrical lines and the need to paint many of the houses in the historic center. In 2012, Papantla officially became a Pueblo Mágico. Papantla is the heart of the Totonacapan region. When the Spanish refounded the town, they laid it out in Spanish style with

366-401: A clarinet or two, a violin or two and tympani ( kettle drums ). At the beginning of the 20th century, the lighter and somewhat more elegant sound of the charanga emerged (see Early Cuban bands ). Initially, they were small orchestra of two violins, a cello, flute, timbales , güiro , and doublebass . Charanga and típicas competed with each other for years, but after 1930 it was clear that

488-526: A montuno as a final part of his El Bombín de Barretto . This was a swinging section, consisting of a repeated musical phrase, which introduced something of the son into the danzón (a tactic which was to recur again). Because of the popularity of son in the 1920s and 1930s, Aniceto Díaz in Rompiendo la rutina in 1929 added a vocal part, thereby creating a new genre called the danzonete. Later development led to more syncopation , which eventually led to

610-478: A central plaza surrounded by the most important buildings, such as the main church and the main government building. The Municipal Palace still faces the main plaza, marked by the classic-style pediment over the main entrance. This building contains two murals: one about the Totonacs by Teodoro Cano Garcia and the other by Xolotl Martinez Hurtado de Mendoza. The construction of the building dates from 1810 although it

732-408: A collection of over 300 masks from Totonacapan and other parts of Mexico, located in the community of San Pablo. It was founded by Simon Gomez Atzin who collected masks and ceremonial dress for many years. The Teodoro Cano Garcia Museum contains works by this artist as well as some of his protégés. It also contains archeological pieces and elements of Totonac culture such as dress. Other museums include

854-607: A different social structure. Until the accurate dating of Watson Brake and similar sites, the oldest mound complex was thought to be Poverty Point , also located in the Lower Mississippi Valley . Built about 1500 BCE, it is the centerpiece of a culture extending over 100 sites on both sides of the Mississippi . The Poverty Point site has earthworks in the form of six concentric half-circles, divided by radial aisles, together with some mounds. The entire complex

976-532: A monopoly of Mexico until hand pollination methods were developed that allowed the plant to grow in other parts of the world, devastating the industry here. Today, Mexican production of vanilla trails behind production in parts of Africa and Asia. In spite of this, the Academy of Sciences and Gastronomic Arts in Paris in 1921 chose to pay homage to the Totonacs who discovered vanilla. Outside of Papantla, real vanilla

1098-487: A monster to terrify the people. The priests found the couple hiding in the mountains and decapitated them both. Where their blood spilled, a plant began to grow, which soon began to give the people their fragrant flowers and seed pods. True vanilla comes from a seed pod of an orchid called Vanilla planifolia . This plant grows as a vine on host trees in this area, though the species ranges as far south as Brazil. The pods are green when harvested, and turn black when dried. In

1220-638: A much later date, probably no more than 2,000 years ago, moving across the ice from Siberia into Alaska. The North American climate was unstable as the ice age receded during the Lithic stage . It finally stabilized about 10,000 years ago; climatic conditions were then very similar to today's. Within this time frame, roughly about the Archaic Period , numerous archaeological cultures have been identified. The unstable climate led to widespread migration, with early Paleo-Indians soon spreading throughout

1342-762: A population of over 20,000. Other chiefdoms were constructed throughout the Southeast, and its trade networks reached to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. At its peak, between the 12th and 13th centuries, Cahokia was the most populous city in North America. (Larger cities did exist in Mesoamerica and the Andes.) Monks Mound , the major ceremonial center of Cahokia, remains the largest earthen construction of

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1464-679: A single spectacle which is reworked each year. Like the rest of Mexico, Papantla celebrates Day of the Dead but has some local variations. “Ofrendas” (altars to the dead) can be set up on tables or on board which are suspended from the ceiling. The altar is called a pachau and the lack on one in the home can bring on social rejection for violating community norms. These are decorated with palm fronds, bananas, oranges, limes, anis and chocolate figures. Food stuffs include mole, candy, tamales, local breads and other regional specialties. A glass of water and “renio” (a type of local alcohol) are also placed. Day of

1586-524: A single unified empire. The Mixtecs would eventually be conquered by the Aztecs until the Spanish conquest. The Mixtecs saw the Spanish conquest as an opportunity for liberation and established agreements with the conquistadors that allowed them to preserve their cultural traditions, though relatively few sections resisted Spanish rule. The Totonac civilization was concentrated in the present-day states of Veracruz and Puebla . The Totonacs were responsible for

1708-411: A syncopated open vamp in which soloists may sometimes improvise, creating an ABACD or, more common, ABACAD. In danzón, the mambo section is the final section of an arrangement. It was first devised by Orestes López , who added syncopated motifs taken from the son, together with improvised flute variations. He called this type of danzón ritmo nuevo (new rhythm). Orestes' danzón Mambo was the start of

1830-502: A third of the municipality's population of 159,910 (2020) live in the city proper. The city and municipality still has strong communities of Totonacs, with about 25% of the municipality's population speaking an indigenous language. The overwhelming majority identify themselves as Catholic but about ten percent are evangelical Christian. Papantla borders the municipalities of Cazones de Herrera, Tecolutla, Gutiérrez Zamora, Martínez de la Torre, Espinal, Coatzintla, Tihuatlán and Poza Rica as well

1952-519: A total of eleven murals on public buildings as well as private houses. The Fernando Gutierrez Barrios Auditorim has a high relief mural depicting sports in the Totonacapan region. The Chapel of Cristo Rey is located on Madero Street and is modeled after the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. It contains a mural by Cano about the history of the city of Papantla. In addition to the murals, the Monument to

2074-531: A variant of the Dance of the Quetzales. The dance represents a survival of beliefs based on agricultural and the solar year. One essential element of the dance is the construction of a wooden cross which turns in a vertical position, representing the basis of creation and the genesis of cosmic life. Dancers dress in red pants, which have been elaborately embroidered, white shirts and a decorated cloth that goes across

2196-463: A variety of tools, including distinctive projectile points and knives, as well as less distinctive butchering and hide-scraping implements. The vastness of the North American continent, and the variety of its climates, ecology , vegetation , fauna , and landforms, led ancient peoples to coalesce into many distinct linguistic and cultural groups. This is reflected in the oral histories of

2318-578: A wider range of music. Danzón was also very popular in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz , Mexico, because of the strong Cuban influence in the region. Later on, danzón developed in Mexico City , specially in the famous Salón México ; it has survived as a dance longer there than in Cuba. Danzón also flourished in the city of Oaxaca , and many famous danzones were composed by Oaxacan musicians such as

2440-631: Is Y-chromosome haplogroup Q1a3a . Researchers have found genetic evidence that the Q1a3a haplogroup has been in South America since at least 18,000 BCE. Y-chromosome DNA , like mtDNA , differs from other nuclear chromosomes in that the majority of the Y-chromosome is unique and does not recombine during meiosis . This has the effect that the historical pattern of mutations can easily be studied. The pattern indicates Indigenous peoples of

2562-458: Is a mural by Teodoro Cano Garcia which depicts the indigenous concept of creation, as a world with four suns. The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was constructed between 1570 and 1590 by the Franciscans . Originally, the church did not have a bell tower as the bell was located on the nearby hill which is now the located of the Monument al Volador. The bell tower was built in 1875, and

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2684-444: Is considered to be tropical rainforest with most rain falling between May and August. September and October are notable for the occasional hurricane. About 75% of the municipality's land is dedicated to agriculture and pasture, with about 47% of the municipality's population dedicated to it, as well as crafts. Main crops include corn, beans, chili peppers and oranges. Livestock raised here includes cattle, pigs, sheep and horses. There

2806-580: Is difficult to find in Mexico because of its cost. Within the Papantla area, elaborate figures, such as animals are made with the pods. The Xanath Festival, which is held concurrently with Corpus Christi, also honors vanilla. In addition, Papantla holds a Vanilla Expo in December. The city of Papantla is the governing authority for over 337 other named communities which cover a territory of 1,458.5 km². About

2928-411: Is nearly a mile across. Mound building was continued by succeeding cultures, who built numerous sites in the middle Mississippi and Ohio River valleys as well, adding effigy mounds , conical and ridge mounds, and other shapes. The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures lasted from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. The term was coined in the 1930s and refers to prehistoric sites between

3050-574: Is reflected in many popular Cuban music genres, in Cuban Latin jazz , salsa , songo and timba , the latter building upon the charanga orchestration. Groups like Los Van Van and Orquesta Revé developed from charangas. Their make-up and orchestration (by Juan Formell ) has been so greatly altered that it is difficult to identify traces of danzón; indeed, their present styles owe more to son than to danzón. The addition of brass instruments such as trombones and trumpets, and conga drums signalled

3172-586: Is responsible for most of the sculptures and other public art works that can be seen in the town today. Some of these include the “Evolution of the Totonac Culture” mural on the side of the main church, the “History of Papantla” mural which is on the side of the Chapel of Cristo Rey and the Monumento del Volador, a giant statue which is on a hill in the center of the city. The city was nominated to become

3294-535: Is some logging done. There is some industry here, much of which is the packing and shipping of oranges. Tourism is becoming an important part of the economy, based on the area's archeological sites, beaches and traditions, especially the Danza de los Voladores. The El Tajín archeological zone was one of the major cities of ancient Mesoamerica which existed between 800 and 1150 C.E. It has an extension of 105,555 m² with 165 buildings and 17 ball courts. The main attraction

3416-540: Is the Olmec. This civilization established the cultural blueprint by which all succeeding indigenous civilizations would follow in Mexico. Pre-Olmec civilization began with the production of pottery in abundance, around 2300 BCE in the Grijalva River delta. Between 1600 and 1500 BCE, the Olmec civilization had begun, with the consolidation of power at their capital, a site today known as San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán near

3538-642: Is the Pyramid of the Niches. It also has a site museum. At the Tajin site every year is the Cumbre Tajin Festival which falls on the spring equinox . It celebrates Totonac heritage with concerts, conferences, food, cultural events workshops and more. Another archeological zone is Cuyuxquihui , which extends about thirty hectares. It contains various pre-Hispanic structures of which the military fort and

3660-670: The Archaic period and the Mississippian cultures . The Adena culture and the ensuing Hopewell tradition during this period built monumental earthwork architecture and established continent-spanning trade and exchange networks. This period is considered a developmental stage without any massive changes in a short period but instead has a continuous development in stone and bone tools, leatherworking, textile manufacture, tool production, cultivation, and shelter construction. Some Woodland people continued to use spears and atlatls until

3782-689: The Chichimecas and other groups coming from the fallen city of El Tajín. During the rest of the pre-Hispanic period the site belonged to the Pueblos del Totonacapan, dominated by Tuzapan , and paid tribute to the Aztec Empire . Soon after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , the Spanish quickly realized the value of the vanilla bean, which is native to this area. The Totonac town

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3904-702: The Cliff Palace of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado and the Great Houses in Chaco Canyon , New Mexico . The Puebloans also constructed a road system that stretched from Chaco Canyon to Kutz Canyon in the San Juan Basin . The Ancestral Puebloans are also known as "Anasazi", though the term is controversial, as the present-day Pueblo peoples consider the term to be derogatory, due to

4026-697: The Maya script . Other accounts also suggest that the Huastecs migrated as a result of the Classic Maya collapse around the year 900 CE. The Zapotecs were a civilization that thrived in the Oaxaca Valley from the late 6th century BCE until their downfall at the hands of the Spanish conquistadors. The city of Monte Albán was an important religious center for the Zapotecs and served as the capital of

4148-613: The Olmec , Teotihuacan , Mayas , Zapotecs , Mixtecs , Huastecs , Purepecha , Toltecs , and Mexica / Aztecs . The Mexica civilization is also known as the Aztec Triple Alliance since they were three smaller kingdoms loosely united together. These Indigenous civilizations are credited with many inventions: building pyramid temples, mathematics , astronomy , medicine, writing, highly accurate calendars , fine arts , intensive agriculture, engineering , an abacus calculator, and complex theology . They also invented

4270-492: The Spanish conquest of El Salvador , Cuzcatlan was forced to surrender to conquistador Pedro de Alvarado in 1528. Danz%C3%B3n Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba . It is also an active musical form in Mexico and Puerto Rico . Written in 4 time , the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance , requiring set footwork around syncopated beats, and incorporating elegant pauses while

4392-463: The Tlingit , Haida , Chumash , Mandan , Hidatsa , and others, and some established large settlements, even cities, such as Cahokia , in what is now Illinois . Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before

4514-427: The danzón-chá , nuevo ritmo , cha-cha-chá , pachanga and mambo . From the 1940s to the 1960s danzón and its derivatives were highly popular in Cuba, with several truly fine charangas playing most days of the week. Orquesta Aragón kept up an exceptionally high standard for many years, but the danzón itself gradually dropped out, and is now a relic dance. Danzón has never ceased to influence Cuban musicians, and it

4636-506: The founding population . The microsatellite diversity and distributions of the Y lineage specific to South America indicate that certain Amerindian populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region. The Na-Dené , Inuit , and Indigenous Alaskan populations exhibit haplogroup Q-M242 (Y-DNA) mutations, however, and are distinct from other Indigenous peoples with various mtDNA mutations. This suggests that

4758-538: The habanera , a creolized Cuban dance form. By 1879, the year Las alturas de Simpson composed by Miguel Failde (leader of the Orquesta Faílde ) was first performed in Matanzas , danzón had emerged as a distinct genre. Creation of the new danzón form is generally attributed to Faílde. The classical composer Manuel Saumell has also been cited as a key figure in its delineation. The English contradanza

4880-569: The Americas experienced two very distinctive genetic episodes: first with the initial peopling of the Americas and second with European colonization of the Americas . The former is the determinant factor for the number of gene lineages and founding haplotypes present in today's Indigenous populations . Human settlement of the Americas occurred in stages from the Bering Sea coastline , with an initial 20,000-year layover on Beringia for

5002-604: The Americas, diversifying into many hundreds of culturally distinct tribes. The Paleo-Indians were hunter-gatherers , likely characterized by small, mobile bands consisting of approximately 20 to 50 members of an extended family. These groups moved from place to place as preferred resources were depleted and new supplies were sought. During much of the Paleo-Indian period, bands are thought to have subsisted primarily through hunting now-extinct giant land animals such as mastodon and ancient bison . Paleo-Indian groups carried

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5124-623: The Caribbean and Latin America, the danzón was initially regarded as scandalous, especially when it began to be danced by all classes of society. The slower rhythm of the danzón led to couples dancing closer, with sinuous movements of the hips and a lower centre of gravity. The author of a survey of prostitution in Havana devoted a whole chapter to the iniquities of dancing, and the danzón in particular. Articles in newspapers and periodicals took up

5246-416: The Dead celebrations begin on 31 October for those who had died of natural causes. On 1 November, the souls of deceased children (called Laqsq’at’an) are welcomed. Later on 1 November and 2 November the souls of adults are said to return. It is believed that the souls come in the form of insects to eat the meals laid out in offering. It is also believed that this food needs to be freshly prepared and hot. During

5368-477: The Europeans arrived, Indigenous peoples of North America had a wide range of lifeways from sedentary, agrarian societies to semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer societies. Many formed new tribes or confederations in response to European colonization. These are often classified by cultural regions , loosely based on geography. These can include the following: Numerous pre-Columbian societies were sedentary, such as

5490-668: The Hohokam, they constructed kivas and great houses as well as ballcourts . Several of the Sinagua ruins include Montezuma Castle , Wupatki , and Tuzigoot . The Salado resided in the Tonto Basin in southeastern Arizona from 1150 CE to the 15th century. Archaeological evidence suggests that they traded with far-away cultures, as evidenced by the presence of seashells from the Gulf of California and macaw feathers from Mexico. Most of

5612-734: The Maya city of Chichen Itza . The Toltecs established vast trading relations with other Mesoamerican civilizations in Central America and the Puebloans in present-day New Mexico . During the Post-Classic era, the Toltecs suffered a subsequent collapse in the early 12th century, due to famine and civil war. The Toltec civilization was so influential to the point where many groups such as the Aztecs claimed to be descended from. With

5734-454: The Maya civilization cannot be overstated: it transformed political power, artistic depictions, and the nature of economics. Within the city of Teotihuacan was a diverse and cosmopolitan population. Most of the regional ethnicities of Mexico were represented in the city, such as Zapotecs from the Oaxaca region. They lived in apartment communities where they worked their trades and contributed to

5856-662: The Mexican Revolution. A number of clashes were also fought here during that war. In 1922, the city of Papantla became the seat of the Diocese of Papantla when it was created from territories that had belonged to the Dioceses of Veracruz and Tampico . One of the most famous people to come from Papantla is artist Teodoro Cano Garcia, who was a disciple of Diego Rivera . During much of the 20th century, this artist worked to promote Papantla's native Totonac heritage. He

5978-841: The Mississippian groups had vanished, and vast swaths of their territory were virtually uninhabited. The Ancestral Puebloans thrived in what is now the Four Corners region in the United States. It is commonly suggested that the culture of the Ancestral Puebloans emerged during the Early Basketmaker II Era during the 12th century BCE. The Ancestral Puebloans were a complex Oasisamerican society that constructed kivas , multi-story houses, and apartment blocks made from stone and adobe, such as

6100-645: The Museos del Totonacapan and the Casa de Cultura's permanent collection of paintings and sculpture. Regional specialties include frijoles in alchuchut, tashuayahun and zacahuil. On December 7, there is a tradition called the "Dia del Niño Perdido” (Day of the Lost Child). On this day, lighted candles are placed on doorjambs and windowsills. However, the major festival for this city is the feast of Corpus Christi , which features processions, and indigenous dances such as

6222-483: The Olmec resulted in a power vacuum in Mexico. Emerging from that vacuum was Teotihuacan, first settled in 300 BCE. By 150 CE, Teotihuacan had risen to become the first true metropolis of what is now called North America. Teotihuacan established a new economic and political order never before seen in Mexico. Its influence stretched across Mexico into Central America, founding new dynasties in the Maya cities of Tikal , Copan , and Kaminaljuyú . Teotihuacan's influence over

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6344-744: The Olmecs, Teotihuacan, the Toltecs, the Mexica, and the Mayas. These civilizations (except for the politically fragmented Maya) extended their reach across Mesoamerica—and beyond—like no others. They consolidated power and distributed influence in matters of trade, art, politics, technology, and theology. Other regional power players made economic and political alliances with these civilizations over 4,000 years. Many made war with them, but almost all peoples found themselves within one of their spheres of influence. Regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica have been

6466-459: The Spanish colonists. The Wichita people were a loose confederation that consisted of sedentary agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers who resided in the eastern Great Plains . They lived in permanent settlements and even established a city called Etzanoa , which had a population of 20,000 people. The city was eventually abandoned around the 18th century after it was encountered by Spanish conquistadors Jusepe Gutierrez and Juan de Oñate . When

6588-491: The Tlahuanapa, Santa Agueda and the Poza Verde. The area is heavily forested with subtropical perennial foliage with trees such as the heliocarpus , laurel , cedar and ceiba . It contains 17 km of mostly virgin beaches. The coastline includes the Boquila Estuary, Playa Chichinit, Rancho Playa, Playa Olmo, Tenixtepec and Boca de Lima. Most of the animal life consists of small mammals such as rabbits, raccoons and coyotes along with various species of birds and snakes. The area

6710-445: The Tlaxcalans for preserving their culture and for their assistance in defeating the Aztecs. The Tlaxcalans would once again assist to the Spaniards during the Mixtón War and the conquest of Guatemala . Cuzcatlan was a Pipil confederacy of kingdoms and city-states located in present-day El Salvador . According to legend, Cuzcatlan was established by Toltec migrants during the Classic Maya collapse in approximately 1200 CE. During

6832-455: The Totonac language, vanilla is called Xanath and is used to make a liquor which is almost never seen outside of the Papantla area. These people have used vanilla for centuries as a flavoring, a perfume and as medicine. In the early colonial period, the Spanish quickly exported vanilla to Europe and a number of cultivators became wealthy. The name "vanilla" comes from the Spanish "vainilla" which means little seed pod. The growing of vanilla remained

6954-486: The Voladores is located on a hill in the center of the city. This hill also serves as a scenic lookout and contains a mural which narrates the ceremony from the cutting of the tree to the execution of the descent. The city is home to the Universidad Pedagógica Veracruzana, as well as a number of museums. The Museo de la Ciudad is located on Pino Suárez Street and contains exhibits from the pre-Hispanic, colonial and post-Independence periods. The Museo de las Mascaras contains

7076-443: The calendar, were bequest from the former inhabitants of Tula, the Toltecs. The Mexica-Aztecs were the rulers of much of central Mexico by about 1400 (while Yaquis , Coras, and Apaches commanded sizable regions of northern desert), having subjugated most of the other regional states by the 1470s. At their peak, the Valley of Mexico where the Aztec Empire presided, saw a population growth that included nearly one million people during

7198-403: The ceremonial center stand out. It is located about 37 km from the city. There are also two ecological parks called Kiwíkgolo and Xanath. Pre-Hispanic In the history of the Americas , the pre-Columbian era , also known as the pre-contact era , or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil , spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to

7320-487: The chest. But the most distinctive apparel is the headdress, which is a large circle of woven ribbons with loose ends hanging around down the back. The dance movements involve the stomping with the boots that dancers wear. Papantla is the heart of Mexico's vanilla -growing region, called Totonacapan and the spice has been grown and trade here since well into the pre-Hispanic period. According to legend. The Totonacs have lived and grown vanilla since they came to this area after

7442-457: The city's economic and cultural prowess. Teotihuacan's economic pull impacted areas in northern Mexico as well. It was a city whose monumental architecture reflected a monumental new era in Mexican civilization, declining in political power about 650 CE—but lasting in cultural influence for the better part of a millennium, to around 950 CE. Contemporary to Teotihuacan's greatness was that of the Maya civilization. The period between 250 CE and 650 CE

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7564-406: The civilizations in its area, the Tarascan Empire was the most prominent in metallurgy, harnessing copper, silver, and gold to create items such as tools, decorations, and even weapons and armor. Bronze was also used. The great victories over the Aztecs by the Tarascans cannot be understated. Nearly every war they fought in resulted in a Tarascan victory. Because the Tarascan Empire had little links to

7686-429: The cliff dwellings constructed by the Salado are primarily located in Tonto National Monument . The Iroquois League of Nations or "People of the Long House" was a politically advanced, democratic society, which is thought by some historians to have influenced the United States Constitution , with the Senate passing a resolution to this effect in 1988. Other historians have contested this interpretation and believe

7808-404: The clock which is there was installed in 1895. The church is in the form of a Latin cross and has an entrance flanked by Roman style pilasters . Across from the main facade are the principal markets, called Hidalgo and Juarez. On the atrium wall is a sculpted mural by Teodoro Cano Garcia which depicts the evolution of Totonac culture superimposed on the body of the god Quetzalcoatl . The city has

7930-404: The coast in southeast Veracruz . The Olmec influence extended across Mexico, into Central America , and along the Gulf of Mexico . They transformed many peoples' thinking toward a new way of government, pyramid temples, writing, astronomy, art, mathematics, economics, and religion. Their achievements paved the way for the Maya civilization and the civilizations in central Mexico. The decline of

8052-439: The colonization of the Americas dates from between 40,000 and 13,000 years ago. The chronology of migration models is currently divided into two general approaches. The first is the short chronology theory with the first movement beyond Alaska into the Americas occurring no earlier than 14,000–17,000 years ago, followed by successive waves of immigrants. The second belief is the long chronology theory , which proposes that

8174-515: The couples stand listening to virtuoso instrumental passages, as characteristically played by a charanga or típica ensemble. The danzón evolved from the Cuban contradanza , or habanera ( lit. ' Havana -dance'). The contradanza, which had English and French roots in the country dance and contredanse , was probably introduced to Cuba by the Spanish, who ruled the island for almost four centuries (1511–1898), contributing many thousands of immigrants. It may also have been partially seeded during

8296-426: The criticism was to no avail. The danzón became hugely popular, and was the dominant popular music in Cuba until the advent of the son in the 1920s. At length the Cuban government made Faílde the official inventor of the danzón – but not until 1960 , by which time the danzón had become a relic, and its 'child', the chachachá , had taken over. In 1910, some 30 years after Faílde's early days, José Urfé added

8418-459: The danzón include complex instrumental cross-rhythms , expressed in staggered cinquillo and tresillo patterns. By 1879, the year Miguel Failde 's Las alturas de Simpson was first performed (in Matanzas ), danzón had emerged as a distinct genre. Danzón went on to interact with 20th century Cuban genres such as son , and through the danzón-mambo it was instrumental in the development of mambo and cha-cha-chá . The danzón developed from

8540-419: The danzón." The form of danzón created by Miguel Faílde in 1879 ( Las alturas de Simpson ), begins with an introduction (four bars) and paseo (four bars), which are repeated and followed by a 16-bar melody. The introduction and paseo again repeat before a second melody is played. The dancers do not dance during these sections: they choose partners, stroll onto the dance floor, and begin to dance at precisely

8662-432: The days of the típica were over. In 1898, a piano was included in a charanga for the first time. In Antonio María Romeu 's hands a piano became standard. Its musical flexibility, its ability to influence both melody and rhythm, made it invaluable. In 1926, in his arrangement of Tres lindas cubanas , Romeu incorporated a piano solo for the first time. His was Cuba's top charanga for many years. Similar to other dances in

8784-501: The de Soto expedition wandered the American Southeast for four years, becoming more bedraggled, losing more men and equipment, and eventually arriving in Mexico as a fraction of its original size. The local people fared much worse though, as the fatalities of diseases introduced by the expedition devastated the populations and produced much social disruption. By the time Europeans returned a hundred years later, nearly all of

8906-672: The decline of the Toltec civilization came political fragmentation in the Valley of Mexico . Into this new political game of contenders to the Toltec throne stepped outsiders: the Mexica . They were also a desert people, one of seven groups who formerly called themselves "Azteca", in memory of Aztlán , but they changed their name after years of migrating. Since they were not from the Valley of Mexico , they were initially seen as crude and unrefined in

9028-479: The destruction, a few original documents have survived, and others were transcribed or translated into Spanish, providing modern historians with valuable insights into ancient cultures and knowledge. Before the development of archaeology in the 19th century, historians of the pre-Columbian period mainly interpreted the records of the European conquerors and the accounts of early European travelers and antiquaries. It

9150-399: The downfall of Teotihuacan. The origin of the plant is said to have come from the death of two young lovers. The young woman, Tzacopantziza, was the daughter of a king named Tenitztli. She was so beautiful that her father consecrated her to the goddess Tonacayohua so that no mortal man may have her. However, a young prince by the name of Zkatan-Oxga, kidnapped her. This angered the gods and send

9272-714: The earliest migrants into the northern extremes of North America and Greenland derived from later populations. Asian nomadic Paleo-Indians are thought to have entered the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge (Beringia), now the Bering Strait , and possibly along the coast. Genetic evidence found in Indigenous peoples ' maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) supports the theory of multiple genetic populations migrating from Asia. After crossing

9394-548: The empire from 700 BCE to 700 CE. The Zapotecs resisted the expansion of the Aztecs until they were subjugated in 1502 under Aztec emperor Ahuitzotl . After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , the Zapotecs resisted Spanish rule until King Cosijopii I surrendered in 1563. Like the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs thrived in the Oaxaca Valley. The Mixtecs consisted of separate independent kingdoms and city-states, rather than

9516-595: The end of the period when they were replaced by bows and arrows . The Mississippian culture was spread across the Southeast and Midwest of what is today the United States, from the Atlantic coast to the edge of the plains, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Upper Midwest, although most intensively in the area along the Mississippi River and Ohio River . One of the distinguishing features of this culture

9638-462: The establishment of cities, such as El Tajín as important commercial trading centers. The Totonacs would later assist in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire as an opportunity to liberate themselves from Aztec military imperialism. The Toltec civilization was established in the 8th century CE. The Toltec Empire expanded its political borders to as far south as the Yucatán peninsula , including

9760-402: The famous Nereidas and Teléfono de larga distancia, both works of Amador Pérez Dimas , from the town of Zaachila , near Oaxaca city. Today, people still dance danzón in Mexico, particularly in the main plazas of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Mexico City, and in yearly festivals across Mexico. The dance had a second revival in the 1990s, especially among Mexico's senior citizens. A film called Danzón

9882-403: The first Cazonci, Tariacuri, united these communities and built them into one of the most advanced civilizations in Mesoamerica. Their capital at Tzintzuntzan was just one of the many cities—there were ninety more under its control. The Tarascan Empire was among the largest in Central America, so it is no surprise that they routinely came into conflict with the neighboring Aztec Empire . Out of all

10004-462: The first group of people entered the hemisphere at a much earlier date, possibly 50,000–40,000 years ago or earlier. Artifacts have been found in both North and South America which have been dated to 14,000 years ago, and accordingly humans have been proposed to have reached Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America by this time. In that case, the Inuit would have arrived separately and at

10126-400: The former Toltec Empire , they were also quite independent in culture from their neighbors. The Aztecs, Tlaxcaltec , Olmec, Mixtec, Maya, and others were very similar to each other, however. This is because they were all directly preceded by the Toltecs, and they therefore shared almost identical cultures. The Tarascans, however, possessed a unique religion, as well as other things. Tlaxcala

10248-506: The four cardinal directions. The flautist begins by honoring the east, from which life is believed to have originated. This dance or ceremony has been inscribed as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO The Dance of the Guaguas (also spelled Huahuas) is mostly performed by Totonacs but also by some groups of Nahuas and Huastecs who live in this area. It is

10370-596: The impact was minimal or did not exist, pointing to numerous differences between the two systems and the ample precedents for the constitution in European political thought. The Calusa were a complex paramountcy/kingdom that resided in southern Florida . Instead of agriculture, the Calusa economy relied on abundant fishing. According to Spanish sources, the "king's house" at Mound Key was large enough to house 2,000 people. The Calusa ultimately collapsed into extinction at around 1750 after succumbing to diseases introduced by

10492-484: The indigenous peoples, described by a wide range of traditional creation stories which often say that a given people have been living in a certain territory since the creation of the world. Throughout thousands of years, paleo-Indian people domesticated, bred, and cultivated many plant species, including crops that now constitute 50–60% of worldwide agriculture. In general, Arctic, Subarctic, and coastal peoples continued to live as hunters and gatherers, while agriculture

10614-687: The influence that astronomical activities had upon Mesoamerican people before the arrival of Europeans. Many of the later Mesoamerican civilizations carefully built their cities and ceremonial centers according to specific astronomical events. The biggest Mesoamerican cities, such as Teotihuacan , Tenochtitlan , and Cholula , were among the largest in the world. These cities grew as centers of commerce, ideas, ceremonies, and theology, and they radiated influence outwards onto neighboring cultures in central Mexico. While many city-states, kingdoms, and empires competed with one another for power and prestige, Mesoamerica can be said to have had five major civilizations:

10736-616: The land bridge, they moved southward along the Pacific coast and through an interior ice-free corridor. Throughout millennia, Paleo-Indians spread throughout the rest of North and South America. Exactly when the first people migrated into the Americas is the subject of much debate. One of the earliest identifiable cultures was the Clovis culture , with sites dating from some 13,000 years ago. However, older sites dating back to 20,000 years ago have been claimed. Some genetic studies estimate

10858-472: The late Aztec period (1350–1519). Their capital, Tenochtitlan , is the site of modern-day Mexico City . At its peak, it was one of the largest cities in the world with population estimates of 200,000–300,000. The market established there was the largest ever seen by the conquistadores on arrival. Initially, the lands that would someday comprise the lands of the powerful Tarascan Empire were inhabited by several independent communities. Around 1300, however,

10980-607: The late twentieth century, archeologists have studied, analyzed, and dated these sites, realizing that the earliest complexes were built by hunter-gatherer societies, whose people occupied the sites on a seasonal basis. Watson Brake , a large complex of eleven platform mounds, was constructed beginning in 3400 BCE and added to over 500 years. This has changed earlier assumptions that complex construction arose only after societies had adopted agriculture, and become sedentary, with stratified hierarchy and usually ceramics. These ancient people had organized to build complex mound projects under

11102-527: The nearby ruins of the pre-Hispanic city of El Tajín were accidentally discovered by Spaniard Diego Ruiz, while he was looking for clandestine plantings of tobacco. This site became famous around the world soon after due to the writings of Alexander von Humboldt and others. During the Mexican War of Independence , Serafin Olarte and his guerrillas actively fought in the area from 1813 to 1820, until Olarte

11224-454: The nights, groups of living children go house to house singing traditional songs. For religious and secular events, two dances are definitive of Papantla. According to Totonac myth, the gods told men “Dance, and we shall observe.” The Danza de los Voladores is one of these events that was originally meant to please the gods. The ceremony involves five participants who climb a thirty-meter pole. Four of these tie ropes around their waists and wind

11346-457: The only true writing system native to the Americas using pictographs and syllabic elements in the form of texts and codices inscribed on stone, pottery, wood, or perishable books made from bark paper. The Huastecs were a Maya ethnic group that migrated northwards to the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The Huastecs are considered to be distinct from the Maya civilization, as they separated from the main Maya branch at around 2000 BCE and did not possess

11468-539: The onset of European colonization , which began with Christopher Columbus 's voyage in 1492. This era encompasses the history of Indigenous cultures prior to significant European influence, which in some cases did not occur until decades or even centuries after Columbus's arrival. During the pre-Columbian era, many civilizations developed permanent settlements, cities, agricultural practices, civic and monumental architecture, major earthworks , and complex societal hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had declined by

11590-405: The organizing principle of sub-Saharan African rhythm, known in Cuba as clave . Danzón is elegant and virtuoso music, with dance. A danzón, in its original form, was not sung, and did not feature any improvisations, unlike some other Cuban genres. A danzón has the following typical structure: The classic form is thus ABAC or ABACA. A danzón-chá or danzón-mambo typically add another part (D),

11712-475: The other end around the top of the pole in order to descend to the ground. Each rope is wound around the top of the pole thirteen times, which by four equal 52 and corresponds to the Mesoamerican ritual calendar. The fifth participant stays at the top of the pole, playing a flute and a small drum. The flute represents birdsong and the drum the voice of the gods. The four who descend or “flying men” represent

11834-657: The people abandoned their settlements, likely due to drought. The Mogollon resided in the present-day states of Arizona , New Mexico, and Texas as well as Sonora and Chihuahua . Like most other cultures in Oasisamerica, the Mogollon constructed sophisticated kivas and cliff dwellings. In the village of Paquimé , the Mogollon are revealed to have housed pens for scarlet macaws , which were introduced from Mesoamerica through trade. The Sinagua were hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists who lived in central Arizona. Like

11956-416: The prehistoric Americas . The culture reached its peak in about 1200–1400 CE, and in most places, it seems to have been in decline before the arrival of Europeans. Many Mississippian peoples were encountered by the expedition of Hernando de Soto in the 1540s, mostly with disastrous results for both sides. Unlike the Spanish expeditions in Mesoamerica, which conquered vast empires with relatively few men,

12078-616: The religious rites. In that year, a livestock, agriculture, industrial and cultural fair was added. In 1958, the celebration of “Juegos Florales” (flower arrangements) and the Festival Xanath began to distinguish the event from others in the area. The Xanath Festival was begun by Mariano Torres Carreño and Hector Ventura de Castro with the aim of presenting Totonac culture to the city and make the residents proud of their heritage. The festival has indigenous art exhibits, traditional dance, costumes and music. The dances are choreographed into

12200-445: The same moment: the fourth beat of bar four of the paseo, which has a distinctive percussion pattern that's hard to miss. When the introduction is repeated the dancers stop, chat, flirt, greet their friends, and start again, right on time as the paseo finishes. Early danzón was played by groups called orquestas típicas , which were based on wind instruments. They had several brass instruments ( cornet , valve trombone , ophicleide ),

12322-479: The short-lived British occupation of Havana in 1762. Haitian refugees fleeing the island's revolution of 1791–1804 brought the French-Haitian kontradans , contributing their own Creole syncopation. In Cuba, the dances of European origin acquired new stylistic features derived from African rhythm and dance to produce a genuine fusion of European and African influences. African musical traits in

12444-593: The state of Puebla to the south and the Gulf of Mexico to the east. The municipality is located in the Sierra Papanteca, which is a series of low mountains with numerous valleys. The most notable peaks are the La Jarana, Pelón, El campanario, La Palma, De la Cruz, Del Jazmín, del Grillo, de Dolores and Del Clavel. Small rivers which feed into the Tecolutla , and Texistepec Rivers pass through here, such as

12566-564: The subject of considerable research. There is evidence of trade routes starting as far north as the Mexico Central Plateau , and going down to the Pacific coast. These trade routes and cultural contacts then went on as far as Central America . These networks operated with various interruptions from pre-Olmec times and up to the Late Classical Period (600–900 CE). The earliest known civilization in Mesoamerica

12688-419: The theme: Apparently, the danzón, which later became an insipid dance for older couples, was at first danced with "obscene movements" of the hips by young couples in close embrace, with bodies touching, and by couples who might come from different races... So, behind the concern about music and dance were concerns about sexual licence, and about miscegenation , the mixing of races. As with other similar cases,

12810-543: The time of the establishment of the first permanent European colonies, around the late 16th to early 17th centuries, and are known primarily through archaeological research of the Americas and oral histories. Other civilizations, contemporaneous with the colonial period, were documented in European accounts of the time. For instance, the Maya civilization maintained written records, which were often destroyed by Christian Europeans such as Diego de Landa , who viewed them as pagan but sought to preserve native histories. Despite

12932-462: The tocotines, guaguas, negritos, Santiagueros and voladores. The first feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated in Papantla sometime between 1550 and 1560, sponsored by the encomendero of the area, Placido Perez. Until very recently, the celebration was strictly religious with processions and liturgy. In 1957, a more secular event called the Festival of Corpus Christi was added to run concurrently with

13054-498: The visits to the Caribbean by Christopher Columbus. Mesoamerican is the adjective generally used to refer to that group of pre-Columbian cultures. This refers to an environmental area occupied by an assortment of ancient cultures that shared religious beliefs, art, architecture, and technology in the Americas for more than three thousand years. Between 2000 and 300 BCE, complex cultures began to form in Mesoamerica. Some matured into advanced pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations such as

13176-500: The ways of the Nahua civilization. Through political maneuvers and ferocious martial skills, they managed to rule Mexico as the head of the 'Triple Alliance' which included two other Aztec cities, Tetxcoco and Tlacopan . Latecomers to Mexico's central plateau , the Mexica thought of themselves, nevertheless, as heirs of the civilizations that had preceded them. For them, arts, sculpture, architecture, engraving, feather-mosaic work, and

13298-420: The wheel, but it was used solely as a toy. In addition, they used native copper , silver , and gold for metalworking. Archaic inscriptions on rocks and rock walls all over northern Mexico (especially in the state of Nuevo León ) demonstrate an early propensity for counting. Their number system was base 20 and included zero . These early count markings were associated with astronomical events and underscore

13420-722: The word tracing its origins to a Navajo word meaning "ancestor enemies". The Hohokam thrived in the Sonoran desert in what is now the U.S. state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora . The Hohokam were responsible for the construction of a series of irrigation canals that led to the successful establishment of Phoenix, Arizona via the Salt River Project . The Hohokam also established complex settlements such as Snaketown , which served as an important commercial trading center. After 1375 CE, Hohokam society collapsed and

13542-493: Was a Nahua republic and confederation in central Mexico. The Tlaxcalans fiercely resisted Aztec expansion during the Flower Wars ever since the Aztecs expelled them from Lake Texcoco . The Tlaxcalans would later ally with the Spanish conquistadors under Hernán Cortés as an opportunity to liberate them from the Aztecs and managed to successfully conquer the Aztecs with the help of the conquistadors. The Spaniards would reward

13664-497: Was a co-ordinated dance of figures performed by groups of Matanzas blacks. The dancers held the ends of colored ribbons, and carried flower-covered arches. The group twisted and entwined the ribbons to make pleasing patterns. This account can be corroborated by other references, for example, a traveler in Cuba noted in 1854 that black Cubans "do a kind of wreath dance, in which the whole company took part, amid innumerable artistic entanglements and disentanglements". This style of danzón

13786-416: Was a time of intense flourishing of Maya civilized accomplishments. While the many Maya city-states never achieved political unity on the order of the central Mexican civilizations, they exerted tremendous intellectual influence upon Mexico and Central America. The Maya built some of the most elaborate cities on the continent and made innovations in mathematics, astronomy, and calendrics. The Maya also developed

13908-583: Was adopted in more temperate and sheltered regions, permitting a dramatic rise in population. After the migration or migrations, it was several thousand years before the first complex societies arose, the earliest emerging about seven to eight thousand years ago. As early as 5500 BCE, people in the Lower Mississippi Valley at Monte Sano and other sites in present-day Louisiana , Mississippi , and Florida were building complex earthwork mounds , probably for religious purposes. Beginning in

14030-448: Was captured by royalist forces and executed. The municipality was created in 1880 by decree. In 1910, the settlement gained city status with the name of Papantla de Hidalgo. The official name was changed to Papantla de Olarte, in honor of Serafin Olarte. As during the War of Independence, indigenous peoples of the area rebelled against the regime of Porfirio Díaz in the late 1890s, just prior to

14152-515: Was destroyed by forces associated with Pancho Villa in 1915. The building was reconstructed in 1929, with remodeling done in 1979 and 1999. The plaza is officially named the Israel C. Téllez Park, which contains grass and a number of trees. In this plaza are weekend events such as the Danzón Fridays as well as live music on Saturday and cultural events on Sundays. On the underside of the kiosk

14274-569: Was not until the nineteenth century that the work of people such as John Lloyd Stephens , Eduard Seler , and Alfred Maudslay , and institutions such as the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Harvard University , led to the reconsideration and criticism of the early European sources. Now, the scholarly study of pre-Columbian cultures is most often based on scientific and multidisciplinary methodologies. The haplogroup most commonly associated with Indigenous Amerindian genetics

14396-433: Was performed at carnival comparsas by black groups: it is described that way before the late 1870s. Faílde's first danzóns were created for just such sequence dances. Faílde himself said "In Matanzas at this time there was a kind of square dance for twenty couples who carried arches and flowers. It was really a dance of figures (sequence dance), and its moves were adapted to the tempo of the habanera, which we took over for

14518-458: Was refounded as Papantla de Santa María de la Asunción with Spanish families moving in. Soon after, vanilla was being sent to European markets. It was made the seat of the region called Totonacapan, which encompassed the modern municipalities of Cazones , Coatzintla , Coyutla , Espinal , Coxquihui , Chumatlan , Filomeno Mata , Gutiérrez Zamora , Mecatlán , Poza Rica , Progreso de Zaragoza , Tecolutla , and Zozocolco de Hidalgo . In 1785,

14640-431: Was released in 1991 directed by María Novaro. Danzón no. 2 by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez (b. 1950) is a popular piece in orchestral concerts. The basic timbales part for danzón is called the baqueteo. In the example above, the slashed noteheads indicate muted drum strokes, and the regular noteheads indicate open strokes. The güiro also plays this pattern. The danzón was the first written music to be based on

14762-538: Was the construction of complexes of large earthen mounds and grand plazas, continuing the mound-building traditions of earlier cultures. They grew maize and other crops intensively, participated in an extensive trade network, and had a complex stratified society. The Mississippians first appeared around 1000 CE, following and developing out of the less agriculturally intensive and less centralized Woodland period. The largest urban site of these people, Cahokia —located near modern East St. Louis, Illinois —may have reached

14884-464: Was the predecessor of the " habanera ", also known as danza criolla . Out of this Creole genre, the Habanera , was born in 1879 another Cuban genre, called danzon, a sequence dance , in which all danced together a set of figures . The first use of the term danzón , which dates from the 1850s, is for just such a dance. Havana's daily paper, El Triunfo , gave a description of this earlier danzón. It

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