Janitzio follows the three-part structure that Revueltas favoured in all his orchestral works, with a lyrical, slow middle section .
The lively opening employs certain melodic turns native to the region, which may have been modelled on a Purépecha son called "La Reina de los Huajiniguiles" (The Queen of the Huajiniguiles), from Uruaipán in the state of Michoacán .