Playing ‘La Bamba’ for an hour? Must be a Mexican fandango!

Jarana players join a mass jam session at a Veracruz fandango while the dancers pound out rhythms with their heels on the wooden tarima.  John Burnett for NPR

John Burnett for NPR

VERACRUZ, Mexico — The historic city of Veracruz, facing the Gulf of Mexico, is so proud of its musical heritage that every hour on the hour, the bells in the clock tower in the central plaza play “La Bamba.” It’s not Ritchie Valens’