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Musical instrument

Leona

The leona is a musical instrument. It originates from Mexico. Listen to 2 recordings and learn how it makes its sound.

Listen to the leona

Fígura del Balaju en leona
0:41CC BY-SA 4.0by KoffermejiaWikimedia Commons
0:41
Escala en la leona
0:13CC BY-SA 4.0by KoffermejiaWikimedia Commons
0:13

Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

From Wikipedia

The leona is a guitar-shaped fretted stringed instrument, from the state of Veracruz, Mexico. It has four strings and is a low pitched instrument in the son jarocho string family of instruments. The león or vozarrona, bigger than the former, is the lowest instrument in son jarocho genre.

The body of a leona is traditionally carved from a single piece of wood (traditionally Spanish cedar) and it is then hollowed out, with a separate soundboard and fingerboard applied. Other Mexican and South American folk guitars derivative of Spanish instruments are also made this way, notably the charango of Bolivia.

More instruments from Mexico

Frequently asked questions

What does a leona sound like?

Listen to 2 recordings on this page.

Where does the leona come from?

The leona originates from Mexico.

Sources & credits