Hispanic Latin America & Caribbean: Music & Culture
When we think of Latin music we tend to think of salsa, bachata, mambo, merengue, bolero, tango, rumba, cumbia and reggaeton… but there are currently 19 Hispanic countries in Latin America including Central America and the Caribbean. Each of them has different music genres and cultures, and all together are just a tiny bit of the mosaic of diversity that the world has to offer in constant evolution.
Native cultures often have in common the fact of not being able to be contained by national borders. Music and culture have always had a close relationship. Long before recording equipment, music symbolised who people were and how they related to one another.
Today, music continues to impact our lives and express the values and differences both within and between communities. When it comes to musical culture and culture in general nowadays, the effect of the internet and globalisation among others has meant that most countries also have their local versions of now global genres such as pop, rock, metal, reggae, hip hop, trap, electronic or classical music to mention a few. But in this language-oriented cultural supplement, LTM is taking you on a brief musical discovery journey covering all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean where Spanish is the main language, focusing on the music which you are less likely to have heard of.
COLOMBIA
Colombia is known as ‘the land of a thousand rhythms’ but actually holds over 1,025 folk ones resulting from a mixture of Amerindian, African, European (notably Spanish) and modern American influences. Some of the best-known genres are salsa, cumbia and vallenato. But just in the Caribbean region exist other genres such as bullerengue, mapalé, chalupa, chande, maya, merecumbé, pompo, champeta, puya, lumbalú, and tambora.
In the Pacific region, currulao is the star with local renowned bands such as Buenaventura Colombia and La Cumbiamba in NY, as part of the UNESCO list of masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity. Other genres in this region include bambara negra, bambuco, boga, makerule, tiguarandó, and patacoré among others.
In the Andean region, guabina is a popular genre alongside bunde, guasca, carranga, ralajeña, and guaneña among others. In the Orinoco region, joropo is the most popular (being also the national music of Venezuela), alongside other genres such as cachimama, catira, chipola, guacaba, guacharaca, merecure, quirpa and seis. In the insular region, mazurka is a popular genre alongside other globally popular Caribbean ones such as calypso, soca, mento, reggae, and zouk. And lastly, in the Amazon region, mariquinha, mixtianas, tangarana and batuques are part of them.
VENEZUELA
Alongside salsa, calypso, and merengue as part of its Caribbean influence, joropo is the most popular genre in Venezuela. Followed by other folk music such as gaita zuliana, malagueña, punto, fulia, changa tuki, and galerón. Part of its contemporary music is onda nueva which is a mixture of joropo and jazz with influences of Brazilian bossa nova introduced by Aldemaro Romero.
ECUADOR
Ecuadorian music ranges from indigenous styles such as pasillo, to Afro-Ecuadorian styles like bomba and marimba, to modern indie rock like Da Pawn.
Pasillo, pasacalle, and yarabi are popular styles of folk, with the former being downtempo as it is descended from the waltz. Pasacalle is a form of dance music, while the sentimental yarabi is probably the most popular form in the country.
PERU
Peruvian music is an amalgamation of styles drawing on Peru's Andean, Spanish, and African roots. The earliest printed polyphonic music in Peru -and anywhere in the Americas- was ‘Hanacpachap cussicuinin’ composed or collected by Juan Pérez Bocanegra and printed in 1631. The national instrument is called charango and is part of the symbolism of the Indigenismo Movement (1910-1940). Another important detail about Peruvian instruments is that the cajón, commonly believed to be a Spanish instrument for its popularity in flamenco, is a Peruvian percussion instrument created by Africans. Among Peruvian musical genres you find Andean music, huayno, festejo, landó, marinera, muliza, tondero and zamacueca among others.
BOLIVIA
Out of all the Andean countries, Bolivia remains perhaps the most culturally linked to its indigenous peoples nowadays due to its revolutionary history (1952). The most prominent Bolivian musical forms identified within its culture and origins are the kullawada, morenada, tinku, sikuri, taquirari, carnavalito, tuntuna, taki taki, waca tcoris, saya, huayno, and chovena among others which present different variants in each Bolivian department.
PARAGUAY
The folkloric traditional music of Paraguay is the Paraguayan polka, and the guarania created by José Asunción Flores. The Paraguayan polka comes from polka of Czech origin that was danced for the first time in Asunción in 1858. The Paraguayan harp is the national instrument. To this day, Paraguay remains the only country in the Americas where a majority of the population speaks one indigenous language, Guaraní. Paraguayan songs tend to be sung in Guaraní or a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish. Music of a strongly Paraguayan character is also heard in the Argentine provinces of Misiones, Formosa and Corrientes, across the River Paraná from Paraguay itself.
CHILE
Chilean music, as any music, is closely related with its history and geography before the territory was named as it is named today. The landscape, climate and lifestyle of what today is known as Chile vary greatly from North to South and have a deep impact on cultural traditions. Northern traditional music in the territories between the regions of Arica y Parinacota and Coquimbo has been highly influenced by Andean music and by the Quechua, Aymara, Atacama and other cultures who lived around the area occupied by the Inca Empire prior the European arrival. The folklore in central Chile, as in Southern Chile, is closely linked to rural life and Spanish heritage. In Central Chile, the cueca and tonada are the most characteristic styles. The Nueva Canción is a movement that appeared in the mid 1960s and involved not just Chile but the rest of Latin America and Spain. The movement incorporated strong political and social themes and was used as a tool for expressing political and social conscience. In a period of political struggle across Latin America, it became associated with political activism. In Argentina, the movement was called ‘Nuevo Cancionero’ and was led by Mercedes Sosa and Armando Tejada Gómez among others. The foundations of the movement were laid through the efforts of Violeta Parra to revive over 3,000 Chilean songs, recipes, traditions, proverbs and folklore characters.
ARGENTINA
One of the country's most significant cultural contribution is tango which originated in Buenos Aires during the end of the 19th century, and developed likewise in Montevideo in Uruguay. It emerged as a fusion of European styles such as flamenco, minuet, polka, mazurka, and contradanza; Argentine and Uruguayan folk music including candombe, payada and milonga (considered a precursor to tango); and African influences. With Indigenous, European, and African influences as usual in this area, traditional musical genres in Argentine include chacarera, chamamé, candombe, cumbia, and cuarteto. Folk music was popular during the mid-20th century, experiencing a revival in popularity during the 1950s and 1960s with the rise of the Nuevo Cancionero movement, and later in the 80’s after the dictatorship with artists such as Facundo Cabral. The mid-to-late 1960s also saw the rise of Argentine rock. Contemporary local styles, not mentioning global musical genres, include nuevo tango which fuses tango with other musical elements led by bands such as Gotan Project.
URUGUAY
The most distinctive music of Uruguay is to be found in tango and candombe, both genres have been recognised by UNESCO as ‘Intangible cultural heritage of humanity’. Candombe originates from the Río de la Plata, where Africans brought their percussion and dances. The word tango then referred to the traditional drums and dances, as well as the places where dancing occurred. Uruguayan music, other than referring to the now global genres, includes a number of local musical forms such as murga, a form of musical theatre linked to carnival, and milonga. Derived genres are candombe beat and cumbia.
MEXICO
There are many styles of northern Mexican folk music, among the most popular being ranchera, corrido, huapango, redova and banda. Northern Mexican folk music is some of the most popular music in and out of Mexico, with corridos and rancheras being specifically popular in Chile, Colombia, United States, Central America, and Spain. In Central Mexico the most popular style is mariachi. The South of Mexico is often characterised by a strong mixture of different cultures since this region has some of the most important port cities of the country which functioned as an entry way for migrants from Europe, Africa, The Middle East, South America, the Caribbean and Asia. Some of the most known folk music in Southern Mexico are son jarocho, chilena, jarana yucateca and abajeño. Grupera is a genre of Mexican popular music influenced by cumbia and rancheras which went from being popular in rural areas to now being recognised in Latin music awards ceremonies such as the Latin Grammy Awards. Not mentioning the now global genres, other popular forms of music found in various parts of Mexico mostly with origins in other parts of the Caribbean and Latin America include rumba, mambo, cha-cha-chá, and bolero.
PANAMA
The music of Panama is heavily based on folk music from Spain particularly that of Andalusia, influenced first by the indigenous populations of Kunas, Teribes, Ngobe Bugle among others, as well as from Africa, and the migration from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Saint Lucia. With this heritage, Panama has a rich and diverse music history, and important contributions to saloma, pasillo, punto, tamborito, mejorana among other globally popular musical genres. Other styles are congo and tipico.
NICARAGUA
As for most Latin American countries, the music of Nicaragua contains a mixture of European, Indigenous, and African influences. Occasionally though, it also rarely features Asian and Arab musical influences alongside the common influence from neighbouring countries in this area. The Garifuna community exists in Nicaragua and is known for its popular music called punta. Rhythms like trova became essential to writers in the post-war scenario of the 70s and 80s, and they used it to express social injustice and their hope for a better tomorrow. Another popular musical genre in Nicaragua is chicheros.
HONDURAS
Like in Nicaragua, the music of Honduras is very varied when it comes to the typical influence of neighbouring countries in this area, but punta is also the main sound alongside genres such as paranda due to the Garifuna presence in this territory. Mexican rancheras are heard in the interior rural part of the country too.
SALVADOR
El Salvador has an American indigenous population which includes the Lenca, Pipil, and Mayan people. Europeans brought instruments like the guitar, fanfare trumpet, and piano. Africans introduced instruments such as the xylophone, guira, and mbira. Arab migrants brought the oud, ney, goblet drum, and ganun. Liturgical instruments such as tubular bells, pipe organ, and glass harmonica are also present. Musical repertoire consists of xuc, danza, pasillo, marcha and canciones. Marimba is one of the traditional folk music styles performed in El Salvador and was first introduced by Africans. Other styles include chanchona and zafacaite. Marching bands are also representative of Savadoran culture and tradition and are now called ‘peace bands’. Like with many other countries of Central America, the influence of neighbouring countries is also very high in the local musical landscape.
COSTA RICA
The Caribbean coast of Costa Rica shows a strong African influence in complex percussion rhythms such as sinkit. Like its northerly neighbours in Central America, the marimba is a very popular instrument, and Costa Rican marimba music is very popular. Another popular genre in this area is chiqui chiqui alongside an indigenous calypso scene. Mexican music is very popular in the countryside. And like with many other countries of Central America, the influence of neighbouring countries is very high in the local musical landscape too.
GUATEMALA.
Like with the rest of Central America, and most of the world really, Guatemala is not free from the influence not only of neighbouring countries but that of now globally popular musical genres. In recent decades, Guatemala has produced a variety of popular performers such as pop vocalists, Guatemalan rock bands, bachata, salsa and merengue bands, hip hop and reggaeton disk-jockeys, and mariachi bands. The best-known pop artist from Guatemala is Ricardo Arjona. However, the use of the African-introduced marimba instrument in Latin America was first documented in Guatemala and is to date one of the most popular folk music genres alongside garifuna. Garifuna music has African, Arawak, and Kalinago elements, originating from the Afro-Indigenous Garifuna people from Central America as well as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Non-secular musical genres within the Garifuna culture stem from a fusion of West African ancestral worship and Amerindian shamanism, and its genres include punta, paranda, and punta rock. In 2001, Garifuna music, dance, and language were collectively proclaimed as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
As usual, the music of the Dominican Republic has European, African, and native Taino influences. The Dominican Republic is mainly known for its merengue and bachata music, but other genres include salves, palo, and dembow.
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rican music culture today comprises a wide and rich variety of genres, ranging from essentially native genres such as the Afro-puerto Rican bomba, the primarily Hispanic-derived jíbaro, seis, danza, and the essentially creole plena to more recent hybrid genres such Latin trap. Broadly conceived, the realm of ‘Puerto Rican music’ should naturally comprise the music culture of the millions of people of Puerto Rican descent who have lived in the United States, especially in New York City. Their contribution to genres ranging from salsa, hip hop to the boleros of Rafael Hernández, cannot be separated from the music culture of Puerto Rico itself.
CUBA
Cuban music, mostly influenced by West African and Spanish cultures, is often considered one of the richest and most influential regional music in the world. Cabildos, self-organised African associations, were originally and for the most part the responsible for preserving African idiosyncrasies, faiths, and cultures resisting Spanish cultural hegemony. Cuban music has contributed to the development of a wide variety of genres and musical styles around the globe such as salsa and Afro-Cuban jazz, but also tango, afrobeat, highlife, soukous, cumbia, and many West African readaptations of Afro-Cuban music among others, like the ones practised by African bands such as Orchestra Baobab and Africando. According to the Cuban popular music ‘Generic complex theory’, Cuban folk music is classified as follows: Punto cubano complex, with its variations punto libre y punto fijo. Rumba complex, with its components yambú, guaguancó, columbia, conga and comparsa. Danzón complex, with its variants contradanza, danzón, danzonete, mambo and cha-cha-chá. Son complex, with its modalities changüí, sucu-sucu and guaracha. And canción complex, with its variants bolero and filin. But the ‘Generic complex theory’ has been refuted by renowned musicologists such as Leonardo Acosta who explains why in the article titled ‘About the Generic Complexes and other matters’. Other Cuban folk genres include guajira, montuno, habanera, pilon, mozambique, abakua, tropical waltz and timba among others. And among the contemporary ones you can find cubatón.
Hopefully, this brief trip over most of this vast continent -covering over a hundred of globally unknown musical genres- will open several windows to learning further not only about Spanish if that is your goal, but the many different cultures where it is currently spoken and embedded in.