Chamamé

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Chamamé is a folk music genre from the Argentine Mesopotamia ("Litoral").

Jesuit Reductions in the area impulsed a cultural growth in the area that lasted until the Jesuits were expelled by the Spanish Crown in the late 18th century. Within this area, Yapeyú in Corrientes was a centre of musical culture that many point as the birth place of the original Chamamé. Further mixing with instruments such as the Spanish guitar, then the violin and the accordion, finally resulted into what we currently know under the name of Chamamé. There are recordings of early 20th century, and the term 'Chamamé' was already used in 1931, previously often referred to as the Corrientes' Polka.

In the Chamamé, the Spanish guitar and the European accordion, probably brought by the Polish, German, Austrian and Ukrainian immigrants that arrived to the area at the beginning of the 20th century.

Among the most important Chamamé figures we can name Raúl Barboza, Antonio Tarragó Ros, Ernesto Montiel, Tránsito Cocomarola, Mario Millán Medina, and modern musician Chango Spasiuk.