Chicken scratch

Chicken scratch (also known as waila music) is a kind of dance music developed by the Tohono O'odham people. The genre evolved out of acoustic fiddle bands in the Southwest United States. These bands began playing European and Mexican tunes, including the polka, schottisch and mazurka. Chicken scratch, however, is at its root, an interpetation of norteño music, which is itself a Mexican adaptation of polka. Many waila bands still play polka songs with a distinctive flourish.

Chicken scratch is usually played with a band including saxophone, bass, guitar, drums and accordion. Its home is the Tohono O'odham Reservation, Pima Salt River Reservation and Gila River Reservation.

The term waila comes from Spanish bailar, meaning to dance.

The most famous performers are likely the Joaquín Brothers and Los Papagos Molinas with Virgil Molina. The Annual Waila Festival in Tucson, Arizona is well-known, as is the Rock-A-Bye Music Fest in Casa Grande, Arizona.