seafood and caldo de mariscos, a seafood soup reputed to cure hangovers.
Coffeehouses are a center of social life in the city, and the Gran Caf� del Portal and the Caf� de la Parroquia are the two best known establishments. To request a refill, customers clink the sides of their glasses (not cups) with their spoons. This clinking can be heard from the early morning to late at night. The story behind this custom is that a trolley driver used to ring his bell when he was a block away from the Gran Caf� del Portal to let the waiters know he was coming. When the driver died, his casket was borne on the trolley and when it passed the establishment, the customers and waiters clinked glasses in his honor.
The song "La Bamba" made famous by Ritchie Valens has it roots in the Veracruz "son" style of music, which originated in southern Veracruz state, with African and Caribbean influence, and is popular throughout Mexico, Latin America and the United States. Traditional Veracruzian music is called "Son Jarocho". Although there are many types of son music found in Mexico, the Son Jarocho is typically associated with the city of Veracruz. Other types of son include "Son Comercial". This style is faster and flashier than the traditional Son Jarocho and can be heard in Mexican folkdance exhibitions, when Veracruz women with long white dresses and fans dance with partners also dressed in white. The Son Comercial developed in the 1940s from the Son Jarocho, and is so pervasive that today many incorrectly consider it the original. The Casa de Cultura has a workshops for traditional music and son singers can be heard just about anytime on the main plaza (Zocalo)
The Veracruz Carnaval has been celebrated every year since 1866, during the empire of Maximilian I. At that time, a request was made to sponsor "Festival of Masks" which would consist of dances at the principal social gathering sites of the city such as the main theater. While the events were officially
