Caña Dulce y Caña Brava

Caña Dulce y Caña Brava are exceptional performers of son jarocho, a traditional Mexican expression that combines music, dance, and poetry. With a deep connection to tradition, the group delivers poetic messages with a feminine perspective, offering a unique angle in a traditionally male-dominated scene. Thanks to their dedication, innovation, and perseverance, the group has established itself as a benchmark for son jarocho, bringing innovation to traditional Mexican music. The musical virtuosity of its members is deeply rooted in the jarocho tradition, where all of them have learned directly from old masters and have developed and proven their skills on national and international stages. Proudly representing their culture around the world since 2007, the group has been invited to perform throughout the world. They have also collaborated with well-known artists such as Lila Downs, Jorge Drexler, and La Santa Cecilia, and are commonly invited to represent Mexico in Cultural Diplomatic missions, such as the World International Expo in Dubai 2022.

Adriana Cao Romero and Raquel Palacios Vega started the group in 2007, motivated by their passion for music, their lifelong friendship, and their desire to create a son jarocho group with a feminine perspective. They took the name from a song by Patricio Hidalgo, “La Caña,” which emphasizes the duality of the sugarcane, a crop commonly cultivated in the region of Veracruz, that offers the sweet of its taste through the travails of its harvest. The son jarocho tradition is a story about migration that started in the region of Veracruz, the land where Spanish and African arrived to the American continent 500 years ago, and eventually coexisted with the native populations. The mix of these cultures caused the rise of a new form of expression, synthesized as son jarocho. The songs of this tradition, called “sones," have survived centuries by oral transmission and are still alive thanks to dedicated musicians, dancers, and poets. Caña Dulce y Caña Brava are now tradition-bearers with the mission of continuing the echo of sounds that came together so long ago, adding their own feelings and composing new verses to create a contemporary—and feminine—perspective. The audiences will have a unique opportunity to listen to this music from outstanding performers who in the near future will be recognized as masters—maestras in their own right—of the son jarocho tradition.

The tour for Caña Dulce y Caña Brava in the United States has been supported by the Mexican Minister of Culture and Ibermúsicas.

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation. The Fall 2023 Music program is also supported, in part, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation. This concert is supported by the Mex-Am Cultural Foundation.