Music of Latin America
MUSI 3721Y
University of Lethbridge, Calgary Campus
John Anderson
Socio-Cultural Heritage
• Three major socio-cultural
heritages have combined
to different degrees in
different areas to create
the contemporary
situation
• Indigenous Amerindian
traditions
• Iberian traditions of Spain
and Portugal
• African traditions
Socio-Cultural Heritage
• Indigenous Amerindian
traditions
• Differentiated according to
lowland Amazonian and
highland Andean groups
• African traditions
• Brought by slaves during
the colonial era and still
concentrated in coastal
areas
Socio-Cultural Heritage
• Iberian traditions of Spain and
Portugal
• Transplanted during the
colonial era and differentiated
according to social class
• Criollos are New World-born
Spanish or Portuguese
• They form an elite social group
• Mestizos are those of mixed
race
• They are lower class
Relationship between Musical
and Social Values
• Relatively egalitarian communities prefer music with
equal participation among members
• Opposed to hierarchical communities that prefer music
with solo and lead parts
Use of Music to Construct and Express
Social Identity
• This is a universal
phenomenon
• The Suyá of the Brazilian
Amazon, for example,
consider akia songs basic
to what it means to be
Suyá
• Aymara communities in
the Andes use music to
express village social
solidarity
General Musical Characteristics
• Interlocking Parts and
Hockets
• Highland Aymara panpipe
music
• Hemiola
• 2:3 rhythms in Mexican son
styles
Comparison of African and African American
Drumming
• Compare curralao or
candomblé drumming with the
Ewe example from Africa
• On first hearing, the Latin
American examples sound
“African”
• They display call-and-response,
polyrhythms, ostinatos, etc.
• But deeper listening reveals
that the polyrhythms are not as
complex as the African
examples
Traditional Dance, Chunchos of Paucartambo
•
•
•
•
Dance tune
Two flutes
Loose heterophonic texture
Melody consists of two parts
• ABB
• The drums repeat a simple
rhythmic accompaniment
throughout
• Dancers are mestizos from
Paucartambo
• The bands are hired by the
dance groups
• Semi-profoessional musicians
from elsewhere
Traditional Dance and Song
“Qollas Despedida”
• Syncopated five-note melody
• Carried by the violins, kenas,
mandolin, and accordion
• Produces a densely blended
quality
• After the upward leap in the
opening phrase, it has a
descending melody (moving
from higher to lower pitches)
• This is a common technique in
both mestizo and indigenous
Andean music
Traditional Dance and Song
“Qollas Despedida”
• Strophic
•
•
•
•
six lines per stanza
three short melodic sections
AA BB B' B'
The B' section serves like a
chorus or refrain
• The dancers sing as a unison
chorus
• They alternate with an
instrumental rendition of the
melody
Traditional Dance and Song
“Qollas Despedida”
• Songs sung to the Virgin by the
Qollas and other dance groups
are in Spanish, the indigenous
Quechua language, or, as in this
performance, both
• Clear illustration of the
blending of European and
indigenous cultures that defines
Andean mestizo identity
generally
Popular Wayno (Huayno) Music from Peru
La Pastorita Huaracina (Maria Alvarado), “Quisiera Olvidarte”
• Peruvian
• Popular in the 1950s and
1960s
• several guitars,
mandolins, violins, and an
a accordion
• Strophic
• AA BB
• An animated closing
section known as fuga
Popular Wayno (Huayno) Music from Peru
La Pastorita Huaracina (Maria Alvarado), “Quisiera Olvidarte”
• Each section is comprised of
two short phrases
• A = a, b; B= c, d
• Each phrase has its own text
line
• Note the quick high vocal
ornaments
• “he podido” and “maldito”
• Very characteristic of highland
women singers
• Note also the humorous insults
hurled at her lover in the final
lines of the fuga
Son Huasteca: “El Gustito”
• The violinist is at the center of
the ensemble
• Syncopated rhythmic bowing
• Slides
• Double stops (bowing two
strings at once)
• Extremely quick finger work
• The vocals trade back and forth
between the two lead singers
• Frequently use falsetto singing
• distinguishes this style from
jarocho and other regional son
styles
Panpipe Music, “Manuelita”
• Even in construction, panpipes
are reflective of cooperative
values within Aymara society
• It takes two people to play a
melody because the scale is
split between two panpipes
• one partner has only odd
numbered scale degrees, the
other has even numbered scale
degrees
• The dislike of standing out
from the crowd is reflected in
the number of players in a
group and in the way partners
overlap their pitches, so that
there is never a gap in the
sound
Panpipe Music, “Manuelita”
• Structurally, the music is
comprised of three
sections
• repeated ad infinitum
• AABBCC
• These melodies all have a
formulaic quality
• There are only minor
variations between each
section
• only the opening of each
section changes
Panpipe Music, “Manuelita”
• This sikuri piece is a slow piece
• The long-held chords at the
beginning of the piece and at
section endings are typical of
this genre
• The accented strokes of the
drumming pattern are designed
to fit with the melody
• The overlapping and blending
of instruments creates a dense
texture
Marimba Dance “Currulao Bambuco”
• Many African musical
principles are maintained in
African American communities
of Latin America
• cyclical forms, call-andresponse, interlocking melodic
and percussion parts, and an
appreciation of overlapping
textures
• Many African instruments are
employed
• The currulao is a popular
communal dance of Ecuador
and Colombia’s Pacific coast,
wherein men and women court
Marimba Dance “Currulao Bambuco”
• The marimbas play
interlocking duple and
triple rhythms
• Vocal parts are organized
in leader-chorus/call-andresponse patterns
• Melodies and rhythms are
based on short, repetitive
phrases (ostinatos)
• And the vocal style
features yodeling and
other vocal sounds
Marimba Dance “Currulao Bambuco”
• The primary ostinato on
which this piece is
grounded is supplied by
the marimba
• It continues, with some
minor variations,
throughout the
performance
• As the performance
progresses, a female
singer takes over from the
male
Discussion Questions
• How might we compare hybrid musical cultures in our
country to Latin American?
• Why would different types of flutes be prone for use in
Peru?
• How might we catalogue the guitar variants that
developed throughout Latin America from colonial times?
• What examples of sesquialtera might we find in classical
music or the popular music of our culture?
Discussion Questions
• In what ways might marimba playing be compared to the
Shona mbira playing?
• Panpipes were prevalent in ancient Greek and Roman
societies as they have been in Peru. What might be the
connection, if there is any? Or, are the two traditions
unrelated? If so, why can’t they be related?
• Why and how did West African religion and music bind
with Catholicism in Brazil in the form of candomblé?