La Bamba de Vera Cruz

Terig Tucci

Subtitle: Mexican Dance

General Info

Year: 1960
Duration: c. 2:45
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Sam Fox
Cost: Score and Parts – Out of print.

For availability information, see Discussion tab, above.

Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II-III
B-flat Trumpet I-II
Horn in F I-II-III
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion (4 players) including:

Bass Drum
Bongos (2: or Timbales)
Castanets
Crash Cymbals
Guiro
Snare Drum
Triangle
Xylophone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

A traditional huapango song, La Bamba is often played during weddings in Veracruz, where the bride and groom perform the accompanying dance. The dance is performed displaying the newlywed couple’s unity through their execution of complicated, delicate steps in unison, as well as the couple using only their feet to create a bow with a listón, a long red ribbon. The name of the dance, which has no direct English translation, is presumably connected with the Spanish verb bambolear, meaning “to shake” or perhaps “to stomp.”

The arriba (literally, “up”) part of the song suggests the nature of the dance, in which the footwork, called zapateado, is done faster and faster as the music tempo accelerates. A repeated lyric is, “Yo no soy marinero, soy capitán,” meaning “I am not a sailor, I am a captain” (Veracruz is a maritime locale).

- Program Note by David Cross for the Austin Symphonic Band concert program, 3 April 2016

Media

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State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) Gold Campus Band (Seth Davis, conductor) - 5 December 2022
Kent State University (Ohio) All-Star Blue Band (Kate Ferguson, conductor) – 11 January 2020
University of Dubuque (Iowa) Wind Ensemble (Cassandra Blanchard, conductor) – 2 November 2019
Indiana University (Bloomington) Summer Concert Band (Stephen W. Pratt, conductor) – 21 June 2017
Austin (Tex.) Symphonic Band (Frank Tracz, conductor) – 3 April 2016

Works for Winds by This Composer

La Bamba de Vera Cruz (arr. Hunsberger) (1960)
Lola Flores (arr. Krance) (1959/1966)

Resources

Girsberger, Russ. Percussion Assignments for Band & Wind Ensemble: Volume 2 L-Z. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2004, 315. Print.
Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Terig Tucci." Accessed 6 April 2016
Tucci, T.; Hunsberger, D. (1960). La Bamba de Vera Cruz : Mexican Dance [score]. Sam Fox Pub. Co.: [Cleveland].