“La Gucamaya,” a son jarocho (regional folk music style) classic from Veracruz in Mexico, is much more than just any old Spanish song about a bird. A guacamaya is a parrot, though All Around This World can’t say exactly what kind of parrots exist in Veracruz. Instruments particular to son jarocho include a jarana, a quijada (a donkey jawbone used for percussion, which is what Jay played during the recording), a requinto, a mariumbula, a harp and a wooden dancing platform known as a tarima that the musicians actually consider a percussion instrument and factor into the arrangement of son jarocho songs.

Jarana: guitar shaped stringed instrument used in the Veracruz region

Requinto: another small guitar-shaped instrument

Mariumbula: "Cuban bass" --Mbira or Kalimba-type instrument with plucked metal tines