Everything about Latin Music totally explained
Latin American music, sometimes simply called
Latin music in The United States, includes the music of all countries in
Latin America and comes in many varieties. From the simple, rural
conjunto music of northern
Mexico to the sophisticated
habanera of
Cuba, from the symphonies of
Heitor Villa-Lobos to the simple and moving
Andean flute. Music has played an important part in
Latin America's turbulent recent history, for example the
nueva canción movement. Latin-American music is very diverse, with the only truly unifying thread being the use of Latin-derived languages, predominately the
Spanish language, the
Portuguese language in
Brazil, and to a lesser extent, Latin-derived
creole languages such as that found in
Haiti.
Although
Spain isn't a part of
Latin America,
Spanish music (and
Portuguese music) and Latin American music strongly cross-fertilized each other, but Latin-American music also absorbed influences from English and United States' music, and particularly, African music.
Characteristics
There are many diverse styles of Latin-American music, some of which constitutes Afro-American musical traditions, meaning that elements of European, African and indigenous music are fused. In the past, various authors have suggested extreme positions like Latin-American music being bereft of African influence, or being purely African with no European or indigenous elements, but it's now generally accepted that Latin-American music is syncretic. Specifically, Spanish song forms, African rhythms and European and African/Afro-American harmonies are major parts of tropical Latin music, as are the more modern genres such as
rock,
heavy-metal,
punk,
hip hop,
jazz,
reggae and
R&B.
The Spanish
décima song form, in which there are ten lines of eight syllables each, was the basis for many styles of Latin-American song. The African influence is, however, central to Latin music, and is the basis for the
Cuban rumba, the puertorican bomba and plena, the Colombian
cumbia, the Brazilian
samba, the Ecuadorian bomba and marimba music, or
Afro-Peruvian rhythms such as
Festejo,
Landó,
Panalivio,
Socabón,
Son de los Diablos or
Toro Mata. In
Perú there are regions where
African musical influence meet and mingled withat that of the
Gypsy (Roma People). Examples of this mixture are found all over the central and northern coast of
Perú in rhythms such as that of the
Zamacueca or
Marinera and the
Resbalosa. In the most rare of musical mestizages the
African and
Gypsy (Roma People) influence met the
Andean, for example the
Tondero, the
Cumanana and the
Peruvian Vals from the northern coast.
Other
African musical elements are most prevalent in the religious music of the multifarious syncretic traditions, like Brazilian
candomblé and Cuban
santería.
Syncopation, a musical technique in which weak beats are accented instead of strong ones, is a major characteristic of Latin music. The African emphasis on
rhythm is also important in Latin music, and is expressed through the primacy given to
percussion instruments. The
call-and-response song style which is common in Africa, is also found in Latin American; in this style of song, two or more elements respond to each other, musically or lyrically, one at a time. Author Bruno Nettl also cites as essentially African characteristics of Latin music the central position of instrumental music, the importance of
improvisation and the "tendency to use a variety of
tone colors... especially harsh, throaty singing".
Those African musical techniques that were similar to European techniques were kept in Latin America, while the more dissimilar elements abandoned; in addition, the most specialized aspects of African music, such as
polyrhythms, remain a part of Latin music, while the less central aspects of African music, like scale and form, have been replaced by European features. Some elements of African music, most commonly the emphasis on rhythm, have been suggested as having a biological basis, though this is no longer generally accepted among scholars and has been refuted by several studies. Bruno Nettl instead suggests that African techniques were retained because music played a central role in daily life and because African music was "in several ways more complex and more highly developed in Africa than in the Indian and Western folk cultures".
Indigenous music
Very little can be known for sure about music in what is now Latin America prior to the arrival of Europeans. Though there are extremely isolated peoples in the
Amazon Basin and elsewhere that have had little contact with Europeans or Africans, Latin music is almost entirely a synthesis of European, African and indigenous elements. The advanced civilizations of the pre-contact era included the
Mayan,
Aztec and
Incan empires.
The ancient
Meso-American civilizations of the Maya and Aztec peoples played instruments including the
tlapitzalli (a
flute),
teponatzli, a
log drum, the
conch-shell trumpet, various
rattles and
rasps and the
huehuetl, a
kettle drum. The earliest written accounts by Spanish colonizers indicate that Aztec music was entirely religious in nature, and was performed by professional musicians; some instruments were considered holy, and thus mistakes made by performers were punished as being possibly offensive to the gods.
Pictorial representations indicate that ensemble performance was common. Similar instruments were also found among the Incas of South America, who played in addition a wide variety of
ocarinas and
panpipes. The tuning of panpipes found in
Perú has similarities to instruments played in the Pacific islands, leading some scholars to believe in contact between South American and the Oceanic cultures.
Indigenous Music in the andean countries of Ecuador,
Perú and Bolivia tends to have the prominent use of flutelike and wind instruments usually made from wood and canes as well as animal bones and wings. The rhythm is usually kept with drums made out of wood and animal skins with simple rhythmic patterns of varying tempos. This is usually accompanied with rattlelike sounding instruments made out of animal claws, smalls stones or seeds. String instruments of European and Mediterranean origin have influenced local adaptations such as the Bolivian charango or the Ecuadorian mandolina. Genres in andean music are many within each country depending on region and Indian community and ethnicity within them. In Ecuador for instance, there are
sanjuanitos and
capishkas. In
Perú there's
Huaynos and in Bolivia there are
Tinkus,
chuntuquis and
morenadas.
Origins
The arrival of the Spanish and their music heralded the beginning of Latin American music. At the time, parts of Spain and Portugal were controlled by the
Moors of
North Africa, who tolerated many ethnic groups. These peoples, like the
Roma,
Jews and Spanish Christians, each had their own styles of music, as did the Moors, that contributed to the early evolution of Latin music. Many Moorish instruments were adopted in Spain, for example, and the North African nasal, high-pitched singing style and frequent use of improvisation also spread to the all the peoples of Iberia, as did the Roma vocal trill that characterizes
Roma music. From continental Europe, Spain adopted the French
troubadour tradition, which by the 16th century was a major part of Spanish culture. Both ethnic Spaniards and Moors contributed to the troubadour tradition, which spawned the
décima song form, which features ten lines of eight syllables each. The décima format remains an important part of Latin music, include in
corridos,
bolero, and
vallenato.
Some modern peoples of Latin America are essentially purely African, such as the
Garifuna of Central America, and their music reflects their isolation from European influence. However, in general, the African slaves brought to the Americas modified their musical traditions by either adapting African performance style with European songs or vice versa, or simply learning both European song and performance style.
Popular music
Argentina
The tango is perhaps Argentina's most famous music, becoming famous all around the world. Others include the
Chacarera,
Cueca,
Zamba and
Chamamé. More modern rhythms include El Cuarteto, and Argentine
Cumbia.
Argentine rock was most popular during the 60s, and still remains Argentina's most popular music. Rock en Español became first popular in Argentina, then it swept through other Latin American countries. That movement is called the "Argentine Wave."
Bolivia
Bolivian music is perhaps the most strongly linked to its native population amongst national styles of South America. Following the nationalistic period of the 50s,
Aymara and
Quechua culture became more widely accepted, and these styles of folk music gradually fused in a more pop-like sound.
Los Kjarkas played a pivotal role in this fusion, and in popularizing
lambada in the country. Other forms of native music, such as
huaynos and
sayas are also widely played.cumbia is another music enjoyed today
Brazil
Brazil is a large and diverse country with a long history of popular musical development, ranging from the early 20th century innovation of
samba to the modern
Música Popular Brasileira.
Bossa nova is internationally well-known.
Chile
The Chilean music might be argued not as diverse as elsewhere in the Americas, however, there are four main trends:
- Music from the "Big North": Which bears high resemblance with the music of Southern Perú and Western Bolivia, and it's called normally "Andean Music". This music, which reflects the spirit of the indigenous people of the Altiplano, was where the Nueva Canción originated, which is probably the best known chilean music outside Chile.
- Music from the "Central Valley": Which is almost directly derived from that of Spain, arrived through the Vice royalty of Peru. Here it can be found the Cueca (the national dance), the Tonada, Refalosa, the Sajuriana, Zapateado, Cuando and Vals.
- Music from the "South": This is a more complex music to trace, as it has direct influence from Spain, without any stopovers, and mixed with that of the aboriginal peoples, but which evolved far from the cultured centres of Santiago or Lima. Here there are: the Cueca Chilota, the Sirilla, the Zamba-Refalosa
- Music from the Chilean Polynesia, which is the Rapa Nui music.
Cuba
Cuba has produced many of the world's most famous styles of music and a number of renowned musicians in a variety of fields.
Colombia
Cumbia is originally a Colombian style of popular music, though it's now also found in other countries, especially Mexico. Vallenato and Champeta are also Colombian styles. Cumbia is related to other styles within the Atlantic coastal region such as porro, puya, mapale and bullerengue and usually come out of a mix of black, Indian and Spanish influences. Southern Pacific black music is rather different and is prominent the use of the marimba in rhythms such as currulao. Central and southern meztizo usually uses string instruments in styles such as pasillos, bambucos and sanjuaneros. Music in the llanos in the border with Venezuela evolves around the joropo and the use of arps and maracas.
Dominican Republic
Merengue has been popular in the Dominican Republic for many decades, and is a kind of national symbol.
Bachata is a more recent arrival. Derived from the country's rural guitar music, bachata has evolved and risen in popularity over the last 40 years. Bachata, Merengue and Salsa are now equally popular among Spanish speaking Caribbean people. When the Spanish Crusaders sailed over the Atlantic they brought with them a new type of music called Hesparo, which contributed to the development of Dominican music.
Ecuador
Ecuadorian music can be classified in mestizo, Indian and black musics. Mestizo music comes out of the interrelation between Spanish and Indian music. In it there are rhythms such as pasacalles, pasillos, albazos and sanjuanitos and is usually characterized by the use of string instruments. Indian music in Ecuador is determined in varying degrees by the influence of inca quechua culture. Within it we find sanjuanitos (different form the meztizo sanjuanito), capishkas, danzantes and yaravis. Black Ecuadorian music can be classified in two main forms. The first type is black music from the coastal Esmeraldas province and is characterized by the use of the marimba. The second variety is black music from the Chota Valley in the northern Sierra, mainly known as Bomba del Chota, and is characterized by a more pronounced mestizo and Indian influence than marimba esmeraldeña. Most of these musical styles can also be played by windbands of varying sizes in popular festivals all around the country.
Haiti
Rich blend of African and European sounds; along with Cuban and Dominican influences, come together to create Haiti's diverse music. The most notable styles are
Kompa and
Méringue.
Mexico
Mariachi is the most famous and one of the many regional types of Mexican music. Trio is a three voices with two or three guitars, singing the most romantic music in Mexico, Conjunto Jarocho, with the most happy music of the Tropic as The Bamba, Etc. Mexico have composers as Agustin Lara (Lara's Theme, Granada Etc.), Mansanero (Somos novios), Jose Alfredo Jimenez (The best Ranchera Music), Juan Gabriel, Etc. - It's Impossible), They also have another famous style called Norteña becouse the origen is in the Northeast part of the country. There also exist Mexican versions of many other types of music. Including rock, Danzon, Cha Cha Cha, etc. The musical creation in Mexico is so vast and popular around the World.
Nicaragua
The most popular style of music in
Nicaragua is
Palo de Mayo which is a dance and genre of music, as well as a festival in which the dance and music originated. Other popular music includes
marimba,
punta,
Garifuna music, son nica, and folk music.
Paraguay
Peruvian music is marked by Indian, Spanish and black African influences. Coastal
Afro-Peruvian music is characterized by the use of the
Cajón peruano. Indian music varies according to region and ethnicity. the most well known Indian style is the huayno. Mestizo music is varied and within it we find as most popular valses and marinera from the northern coast.
Puerto Rico
Bomba and plena have been popular in Puerto Rico for a long time, while reggaetón is a relatively recent invention.
Venezuela
Llanera is Venezuelan popular music originated in the "llanos" plains, although you'll find the more upbeat and festive
Gaita (music style) beat in the western area specically in the state of Zulia
Nueva canción
Nueva canción is a Latin American music genre most directly associated especially with Argentina and Chile.
Salsa
Salsa is an amalgamation of Latin musical styles, especially Puerto Rican, created in the pan-Latin
melting pot of New York City in the early
1970s.
Tejano Music
Tejano music can be categorized as a blend of
Country music,
Rock, and
R&B born in Texas and performed in both Spanish and English with a variety of cultural influences.
Most
Tejanos today reside in
South Texas and have their own unique form of folk and popular music, greatly influenced by yet quite distinctive from both traditional Mexican music and mainstream genres of American music. Latina Superstar
Selena brought Tejano music to the mainstream and is credited frequently for bringing it to the top.
Reggaetón
Reggaetón has become an international phenomenon and is no longer classifiable merely as a Puerto Rican or Panamanian genre. It blends
Jamaican music influences of
reggae and
dancehall with those of Latin America, such as
bomba and
plena, as well as that of
hip hop. The music is also combined with rapping (generally) in
Spanish.
Imported styles
Imported styles of popular music with a distinctively Latin style include
Latin jazz,
Argentinean rock and
Chilean rock, and
Cuban and
Mexican hip hop, all based of styles from the United States (
jazz,
rock and roll and
hip hop). Music from non-Latin parts of the Caribbean are also popular, especially
Jamaican
reggae and
dub,
Trinidadian calypso music and Antiguan
Soca. See also
Spanish tinge.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Latin Music'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://latin_american_music.totallyexplained.com">Latin American music Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
