Ángel González, “El Huapanguero,” was born on
September 6, 1956, in
Palomas, Guanajuato.
From childhood, when there was no money for guitars,
he carved with his own hands the sound he could not
buy and planted the
certainty that one day he would sing before the people. Around 1975,
he began his path,
alone and self-taught, studying the reglamento of Guanajuato’s Son
Arribeño,
sharpening his ear and memory, and learning to speak poetry
first with others’ verses,
until he found his own voice.
Over the years he forged a style faithful
to the arribeño sound and to the traditional ensemble format:
two violins,
a vihuela, and a quinta huapanguera guitar.
To those who came after him he
left a simple, luminous charge: be consistent,
seek new paths, and do not
stagnate—an ethic his family embraced once his
talent became
evident.
Ángel González passed away a few years ago; what remains is his great and
singular legacy, a
living testament to the Son Arribeño of Guanajuato that continues
to resonate where
word and violin become memory, and memory
becomes poetry.
In Sones Arribeños de Guanajuato, Ángel González, El Huapanguero, opens up a horizon of
verse and clean strings where the word is an arrow and the violin, a path. Accompanied by
Los Campesinos de la Sierra, he delivers original works that move with the cadence of
Guanajuato’s Son Arribeño: firm melodies, conversing strings, and poetry that faces
rural life, love, pride in one’s own land, and shared memory.
Each piece is composed by Ángel and breathes the pure style of the genre: two lead fiddles
that set the course, a vihuela that punctuates the weave, and a quinta huapanguera guitar that
holds the pulse. The result is an authentic portrait of the Bajío: music that flaunts no
artifices, but craft, roots, and living word. This album preserves what’s essential while at
the same time inviting new generations to hear how the heart sounds when tuned in arribeño.
Artist/Performers: Ángel González and Los Campesinos de la Sierra
Genre: Son Arribeño de Guanajuato
Composer of all tracks: Ángel González
Characteristic instrumentation: 2 violins, vihuela, and quinta
huapanguera guitar
Legacy: An album that testifies to the pure style of
Guanajuato’s Son Arribeño
