The mestiza music began to develop even a relatively short time after Cortés’s conquest of the land of Huitzilopochtli. Today, more than four centuries later, the Spanish roots can clearly be recognized in most of the songs and dances that do not preserve an outright Indian character, but this music cannot any longer be called Spanish. It has been subtly but profoundly transformed, accommodating its expression to the character of the people and terrain of each region... Joseph Hellmer