Been There – Veracruz

Starbucks Been There – Veracruz is a mug for a Mexican state on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. It could very possibly be a mug for the whole state since it has the same name. Veracruz, that developed during Spanish colonization, is the state’s most populous city and has been Mexico’s oldest, largest, and historically most significant port.
The original name of the city Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz was given to the settlement by Hernán Cortés who commanded the second expedition to this region. Villa Rica (rich village) comes from the fact that the first campaign has detected gold here and Vera Cruz (True Cross) was added because they landed on Good Friday (April 22, 1519).
The guitar-shaped instrument on the side of the mug is called Jarana Jarocha and comes from the south of Veracruz. The body is carved to shape from a solid piece of wood (traditionally Spanish cedar), and it is then hollowed out, with a separate soundboard and fingerboard applied. The string pattern is usually as follows: 1 single, 3 double and 1 single, being 8 in total. Nowadays 4 double pairs are very common. This and somewhat percussion manner of playing, make the sound of Jarana Jarocha very distinctive — it does not sound like either a ukulele or a guitar. Jarana Jarocha is almost always accompanying ‘Arpa Jarocha’, a Veracruz folk harp to form Conjunto Jarocho, a type of Mexican folk ensemble. The arpa can be seen to the left of the jarana