César Castro

César Castro is a Lecturer in the Music department at Occidental College, appointed in 2011. He is a master of son jarocho, a traditional Mexican music genre, and plays and builds the requinto jarocho, a key instrument in this tradition.

His expertise stems from over 250 years of history in Veracruz, Mexico, blending Indigenous Mexican, African, Spanish, and Arabic influences. Castro began training at age 11, joined the group Mono Blanco at 15, and toured globally for 11 years before teaching in Mexico and the U.S.

• Role: Visiting Instructor, Music (Occidental College, 2011)
• Specialization: Son jarocho, traditional instrumentation
• Experience: 11 years with Mono Blanco, workshops in Los Angeles, collaboration with Quetzal