Bombazos are Puerto Rican jam-sessions where musicians and dancers gather in celebration of music and community; fandangos are their Mexican counterpart. At the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, musicians and dancers from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other Latino backgrounds came together in an unprecedented, joint fandango-bombazo. Musical groups Son de Madera and Sones de México Ensemble started the party with son jarocho music from the Mexican state of Veracruz. Jarocho dancers were joined by bomba dancers from the Chicago-based group AfriCaribe. AfriCaribe musicians added Afro-Puerto Rican bomba and plena percussion. Chicago hip-hop emcees The Essence helped celebrate the finale of this grand fiesta of dance and music.