Music in Latin America
technocumbia
A Peruvian varient of Colombian cumbia
What caused the gauchos to lose their "open range" freedom and start migrating to the suburbs and helped create milonga music?
A combination of government promotion of the exportation of livestock and the commercialization of farming in Argentina.
gaucho
A horseman from the plains or Argentina or Uruguay-Guacho music features solo singing and dancing accompanied by the guitar.
Tarima
A slightly raised wooden platform in which jarocho dancers typically perform as couples, and creates a percussive effect with their rapid footwork
chamame
A song and couples dance genre that originated in NE argentina as a synthesis of the European polka with local musical features. Romantic character with sentimental lyrics.
compadrito
A stereotypical lower class male associated with the marginal culture that surrounded early tango. These males are portrayed as courageous fighters, arrogant bullies, and sensuous dancers.
binary form
AB
candombe
Afro-Uruguayan song and dance genre performed at carnival that uses a specific drum call played by percussion ensemble.
harawi
an indigenous Andean song genre performed by high pitched female singers
malambo
Improvised Argentine dance performed by two competing Gauchos. Includes variations on a repeated chord progression played by guitar and zapateo dancing.
Jarana
In Mexico, a small, guitar-like instrument used in the son jarocho.
What evidence does the author provide that in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay "popular music served as a powerful weapon in the struggle against political injustice and oppression" (312)?
In Uruguay, the Uruguayans survived the terror of the military coup by collecting cultural memories and reviving an acoustic guitar tradition. After the restoration of democracy, the Uruguayan musicians developed "eclectic styles" that attracted the population. In Paraguay, popular music was used as a voice of social and political resistance against the regime of General Alfreddo Stroessner. In Argentina, Seru Giran served as a revolutionary voice against the regime, rallying the youth of Argentina.
Marimbol
Instrument typically used in Son Jarocho. Made from a box of wood with a hole in the middle. Metal strips cover this hole and are typically plucked with musician's fingers.
Sikuri taquileno
Instruments: roughly 40 male sikuri (panpipe) players, playing three different sizes of siku panpipe with wankara (bass drum) accompaniment. Region: Taquile region in the Andes. Genre: Sikuri
Andres Huesca
Jarocho innovator-brought the jarocho to Mexico city. Also introduced a larger harp to it. Appeared in 77 movies.
What changes took place in the Mexican genre of jarocho? How and why did those changes occur?
Jarocho music changed from a participatory genre to a performance style due to a popularization of the genre. The style became slower, more organized, and focused on the harp as a central instrument to the genre; this harp-centered jarocho led to virtuosic harp playing.
indigenismo
an intellectual, cultural, political movement about indigenous cultures and heritage
tundete
an onomatopoeic term for the guitar accompaniment pattern to a peruvian vals
cholo
derogatory term for urbanized indigenous person
What is a mestizo?
includes people of mixed-race ancestry that includes indigenous, Spanish, and African influences.
Aymara
indigenous language and people from southern Peru and Bolivia
Quechua
indigenous language in the Andes
cununos
just kidding
bandoneón
An accordion like instrument associated with the tango, also used in contemporary music. Has 38 buttons on the upper register and 33 buttons on the lower register.
Mexican music has circulated across the political borders of North American over the past two centuries, borders that have, in turn, shifted many times. What evidence does this chapter offer of the important presence of Mexican music in the United States, and controversially, of the influence of American music and culture on Mexican musical arts?
Around the 1950s and 60s, rock and roll began to mix with Mexican culture. This kind of music resonated with the urban youth, which influenced its oppositional tone. Rock music in Mexico began to take after the rebellious rock music culture in the US and Britain. Mariachi music, while still considered a form of Mexican music it is best known abroad, especially in the United States. It was first started in Jalisco, Mexico where the mariachis would play at weddings and parties. The popularity grew once they toured Mexico City and the United States. They skyrocketed into the mainstream once cinematic portrayals and appearances in various films around the 1930s hit the screen.
Why did some audiences dislike the compositions of Astor Piazolla?
Audiences dislike Astor Piazolla's performances because he rejected the established tango traditions. He was extremely experimental in his style, which was off-putting for the more conservative and traditional tango enthusiasts. For example, Piazolla introduced the electric guitar in his tango performances, which was a disgrace to many.
Música Norteña from Mexico typically features which four instruments?
Button accordion, Drum Set, Bajo Sexto, Bass
What induced the upper classes of Peru to embrace the vals in the 1930s?
Commercial radio play was the catalyst in the legitimization of the vals, and similar genres. Another reason for the acceptance of the vals was the increase in Peruvian nationalism.
Los sobrevivientes
Composer: Charly Garcia. Instruments: keyboard, electric guitar, electric bass, drums. Genre: rock nacional. Region: Argentina. Nueva canción. Anti-government.
El Condor Pasa
Composer: Daniel Alomia Robles. instruments: Inca, the Peruvian ensemble, with pututus (conch shelled trumpets), kena, charango, guitar, bombo, and shachas (goat-hoof rattles). Genre: Andean folklore (pascalle and wayno). Lyrics: set in a small mining settlement in the highland Peruvian region of Cerro de Pasco, the story focuses on the exploitation of indigenous workers by the mine's North American owners. Led by the rebellious Frank, who unbeknowst to him, is the illegitimate child of one of the owners, the miners eventually kill their bosses, and the play ends with a condor circling overhead as the symbol of their newfound freedom. Region: Peruvian Andes
zapateo
Dance style derived from spanish sources, includes motion from the waist down and tap-dancing to produce percussion.
lunfardo
Dialect in Argentina/Uruguay that blends Italian linguistic characteristics with local patterns of speech. Lunfardo words appear a lot in Tango lyrics.
Why did the Argentine upper classes come to accept the tango in the second decade of the 1900s?
Due to the tango's arrabales roots and it vulgar and sexual origins, at first the Argentine upper-class disregarded this lewd choreography. The tango depicted couples locked in a tight embrace which was very sexualized and seen as too risqué for the upper-class sophistication. The tango then started to creep its way into upper-class neighborhoods as professionals started to introduce the dance in more reputable places such as the theater, radio, and cinema. Finally in 1911, Camille de Rhynal, a Parisian dancer and choreographer, modified the steps into an eloquent ballroom dance that the French aristocracy embraced. Once this occurred the Argentine upper-class had to embrace it as well because Paris was upheld as the model of cultural refinement.
Carlos Gardel
Famous tango singer who became famous internationally. Broke through with his song "Mi noche triste" in 1917. Brought together rural and urban/ rich and poor elements in his music. Gave hope to Rioplatense immigrants who inspired to be singers as well.
Amalia Hernandez
Founded the ballet folklorico in Mexico. Also became director of the ballet.
Harawi
Genre: Harawi. Instruments: unaccompanied female singers from the village of Alcamenca. Harawi is the oldest musical form practiced in the Andes. Today they are sung by Quechua-speaking communities primarily to accompay agricultural work or ritual occassions.
La Bruja (The Witch)
Genre: son jarocho. Instruments: harp, jarana, requinto, voices) Performer: Jose Gutierrez y los Hermanos Ochoa. Sounds almost like Greek music. Lyrics present an image of a bewitching and beautiful woman who catches the attention of a man. Region: Veracruz
Camorra I
Genre: tango. Composer: Astor Piazzolla. Instruments: bandoneon, violin, piano, electric guitar, bass. Region: Argentina. He uses polyphony.
How does the author define hemiola? Google "hemiola" and find another definition of the word
Glossary: a type of meter in which two groups of three beats (6,8) alternate with three groups of two beats (3,4). It is typical of Spanish and Spanish-influenced musical traditions. A musical rhythmic pattern of syncopated beats with two beats in the time of three or three beats in the time of two.
Inti
Illimani
African Influences
Improvisation, Instruments (marimbol), call and response, dense and buzzy timbres, onomonopeia
cumbia villera
Late argentine rock of the 1990s, popular among poor youth. Images of gangsta rap and cumbia rhythms.
Quiyada (donkey Jaw)
Literally the jaw of a donkey made into a percussion instrument-Musician holds the jawbone in one hand and strikes its other side with his hand or with a stick. This causes the teeth to rattle.
chacarera
Lively argentine couples dance that is performed by acoustic violin, guitar, and bombo.
Discussing three of the romantic tunes that are discussed in Chapter 3, describe some of the different ways that Mexican composers have conceived of love and the other emotions it conjures.
Mariachi is a type of traditional Mexican music that is very popular. José Alfredo Jiménez is a very popular composer. His songs were very romantic, and they really spoke to the Mexican population. Not the elite or upper class, but the middle class working population, the ordinary people. Augustin Lara is a musician partially responsible for benging the bolero to the limelight. His music reflected a sense of urban modernity, something that the Mexican population related to. His songs generally represented a sad love story from the male perspective. However his romantic songs were popular amongst both females and males. The third romantic tune is Corrido, which is one of the most "enduring" forms of Mexican song. It include lyrics about events of social or historical importance. The song really spoke to the oppressed who had been outcast due to political and social repression. It also includes romance heroic stories.
What is música ranchera? What genre from the United States is it similar to? What are some of the common themes sung about in música ranchera?
Música ranchera is music of the countryside. It is the dominant genre associated with mariachi and it is similar to country music in the United States. It is often emotional singing about a variety of themes that include pride of one's country/region, love, nostalgic memories, and loss through death.
La Flor de la Canela
Performer: Chabuca Granda, instruments: vocals, guitar. Genre: vals. REgion: Afro-Peruvian. Lyrics: captures both the spirit of criolloismo in mid-twentieth century Lima, as well as the evocative and sensual poetry that was Granda's trademark.
Zapatista (EZLN)
Refers to the Zapatista Army of National Liberation-A revolutionary group from southern Mexico which is anti-government
Por Una Cabeza
Region: (Rioplatense) Argentina, Composer: Carlos Gardel, Instruments: vocals, strings, piano, two bandoneones, and backup singers. Genre: tango. Text: unfolds in a fatalistic terms, as the singer compares his thrilling but destructive love affair to a poorly timed horse race, in which he loses everything just barely "by a head".
What does Ritter mean when he asserts (on page 328) that the categories indio, mestizo?
Ritter means that the culture of the natives does not see these terms the same way that we see them. They do not seem racially charged to the natives, whereas we see it as such. These terms represent social identity and class structure to the natives
How does Ritter define folklorization? What have been some of the effects of folklorization on the musics of the Andean region?
Ritter's definition of folkorization is taking an event of religious significance and changing it in order to present the event to "foreign audiences." The priorities of the religious events have switched to presentation and commercialism, instead of religion.
tamboril
Single or double headed drum. In Candombe-it is single-headed drum of African origin that is carried over the player's shoulder and played with a stick.
Mono blanco
Son Jarocho Group
When Argentine tango spread to France, how did it transform from a performance spectacle to a participatory social dance? Include a characteristic of each form.
Tango as a spectacle was stylized with influences from other forms like can-can, and was performed by exoticized Argentines for the bourgeois French to appreciate from afar. In order to make it a more social dance, it was tamed down. When tango academies developed, there were new gender roles and much less physical contact, making it more approachable for the French.
What can be said of the Harawi?
The Harawi is one of the oldest musical/vocal forms in the Andes during the time of Inca rule. Incas would sing Harawi's during the harvest season, as love songs, and as epic poetry during Inca festivals. The Harawi has morphed over the centuries of its existence. Today Harawi's are sung in Quechua-speaking communities to accompany agricultural work or other ritualistic occasions (ie. roofing of a house or funeral of a loved family member). (p.329)
What does the author mean when she says "the genres we have examined can be seen as dynamic cultural fields through which musicians negotiate conflicting ideas about tradition and modernity"
The author is discussing how/if international audiences should influence these local and traditional genres. The author believes that musicians over time have "modified their ideas and beliefs about how music should sound and what it should mean." Therefore when we look at all these local genres together it becomes a dynamic cultural field in which many of these genres have similar origins but have evolved into their own forms of music. The author ends the passage, "Although the future of such genres remains unclear, one thing is certain: rioplatense musicians have drawn upon a wide variety of regional traditions as a source of creative inspiration. They will continue to find innovative ways to celebrate their heritage in the years ahead," to further highlight how much the music has developed over time through various inspirations.
What explains the great diversity of music in Quechua territories?
The great diversity of music in the Quechua territories can be attributed to the rainforests and the Andes Mountains. Their placement has caused this diversity of culture and music as well.
Why did Serú Girán include long sections of instrumental music?
The group used long sections of instrumental music because the dictatorship could not censor a new song without many words. The group used lyrics that contained cryptic meanings so they could bypass the threats of censorship.
Why are indigenous ensembles in the Andes generally made up of only one type?
The indigenous ensembles in the Andes are made up of only one type because each instrument has a season that it goes with. Thus, the instruments change throughout the year depending on the season.
What are the main differences between indigenous and mestizo Wayno?
The indigenous wanes use high-pitched women's voices on the track with the instrumental ensembles, which include the seasonal instruments in order to keep the fast tempo. On the other hand, the Mestizo waynos are slower, they sing in a lower key or octave, and are usually sung by men.
In the song "Chacarera del Paisano," how does the narrator view the technologies of modernization (trains, cars, trollies, etc)?
The narrator believes that all of the intelligence for this dangerous technology must have come from Zupay (the Devil). The narrator is amazed by how the subway works, when he says, "You should see them, Moving as fast as bullets." However while impressed the narrator points out the dangers and other negative things about the technology. When talking about the trolleys, "Powered by electricity, Mama mia! How dangerous, Traveling on them can be," the narrator is skeptical of how safe these modes of transportation really are. While realizing the intelligence behind the technology but the narrator is still not convinced about the safety and efficiency.
What have been some of the effects of tourism on the music of Taquile residents?
The natives have responded to tourism very well, and it has caused them to make businesses and money out of the tourism. They also have mad either traditions more presentable in order to cater to the tourists. It has become more commercial.
pampas
The plains regions in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil-Home to the gauchos.
arrabales
The poor districts on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and Montevido where the Tango arose.
Although the author includes very little specific discussion of Mexico's African heritage, there are a few hints in this chapter that African influences have shaped Mexican music. What evidence can you find in this chapter of Mexico's African heritage?
The son musical genre in Mexican music is very important. It is at the center of the traditional Mexican music web; as many other sub-genres such as, son jarocho, son jalisciense, and son huasteco have evolved from the original son. Its influence is unquestioned in Mexican music. Different son genres "emerged as distant musical forms by the eighteenth century, the result of fusions of influences from Spanish, indigenous, and West African musical practices." Son jarocho dancers were usually accompanied of ensembles of Afro-Mexican musicians as well. The traditional Mexican music of today has roots in and has grown from West African descendants.
How has tourism transformed tango practice in Buenos Aires?
Tourism has commercialized tango in Buenos Aires. Shows are now promoted by large hotels, which made the whole dance production superficial.
payador/payada
Vocal competition between two singers. Based on the improvisation of these two singers, accompanied by guitar. Comparable to the cuban controversia genre.
vals
a Peruvian adaptation of the waltz
siku
a double-rank panpipe made of bamboo or cane, played in Peruvian and Bolivian Andes.
jarana
a festive gathering of friends and family featuring criollo music, dancing, and food
Rubato
a fluctuation of tempo within a musical phrase often against a rhythmically steady accompaniment.
milonga
a musical genre representative of the Pampas. Uses eight syllable lines arranged in ten line stanzas. Many are sad, with slow tempos and minor scales. Others focus on the disappearing rural culture of the past or on the lives of Gauchos. Instruments: Voice and guitars.
vocables
a nonlexical syllable used in a song
mestizo
a person of mixed race ancestry
Jarocho (son jarocho)
a regional son variant from the state of Veracruz, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Instruments in jarocho ensembles typically include the arpa jarocha (harp), various types of jarana (a small guitar), the requinto (guitar-like instrument), and voices.
Son jarocho
a regional son variant from the state of Veracruz, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Instruments in jarocho ensembles typically include the arpa jarocha (harp), various types of jarana (a small guitar), the requinto (guitar-like instrument), and voices.
tritonic
a scale or piece of music based on three notes or pitches
Requinto
a small guitar tuned a fourth higher than the regular instrument. Commonly used by Mexican trios romanticos and most famously associated with Trio Los Panchos who invented it.
Zapateado
a specific dance style derived from Spanish sources, characterized by motion primarily from the waist down and the tapping of the dancers' shoes against the floor to create percussive sounds or rhythms. Such dancing characterizes many genres of Latin American music. The term may also refer to specific dance genres that use this gesture.
tarka
a wooden six-holed duct flute
kena
an end-notch flute with 6 anterior holes and 1 posterior (thumb) hole
How did Argentine Rock Nacional begin?
local songwriters in Argentina created new forms of original music that incorporated Argentine characteristics. rock music engaged with national politics/young people increasingly drew upon popular expressive forms to create a culture of resistance
wayno
most popular and widespread genre of music and dance found in the Andean highlands
criollo
music descended from spanish roots and that developed in the Americas. In Argentina-it is music that is sung in spanish but has primarily European characteristics.
Indigenous
non-western approaches to scale, song themes
criollo
people, culture, and music of the coast of Peru, distinct from indigenous and mestizo highlands
European influences
plucking techniques, zapateado, coplas, stringed instruments, decimas
chicha
popular music from Peru that combines traditional highlands music with cumbia and Latin pop
nueva canción
socially/politically engaged music
bordón
syncopated bass line in Andean music
How were the reactions of the Mexican media and the Mexican government to the rising popularity of rock and roll music different?
the media had a positive perspective and promoted the growing influence of American and British rock and roll music, encouraging local talent. On the other hand, the Mexican government was not a fan and thought the genre to be too defiant, so they reacted to their concern with censorship.
hocketing
the practice of dividing the pitches of a melody between two different musicians
Son
traditional Mexican music, most popular are son jaliciense and son huasteco or huapango
strophic
when each verse of the text is set to the same music