Music of Colombia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modern Colombian music is a mixture of African, native Indigenous and European (especially Spanish) influences, as well as more modern American and Caribbean musical forms, such as Trinidadian, Cuban, and Jamaican. The national music of Colombia is said to be vallenato and cumbia.
Cumbia is a mixture of Spanish and African music, the latter brought by slaves. The style of dance is designed to recall the shackles worn around the ankles of the slaves. In the 19th century, slavery was abolished and Africans, Indians and other ethnic groups mixed more fully. Styles like bambuco, vallenato and porro was especially influential. When the waltz became popular in the 19th century, a Colombian version called pasillo was invented. International Latin, a type of pop ballad, and salsa music are best-represented by Charlie Zaa and Joe Arroyo, respectively.
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[edit] Cumbia
Main Article: Cumbia
Cumbia is a complex, rhythmic music which arose on Colombia's Atlantic coast. In its original form, cumbia bands included only percussion and vocals; modern groups include saxophones, trumpets, keyboards and trombones as well. It evolved out of native influences, combining both traditions. Some observers have claimed that the dance originally associated with cumbia arose as a depiction of a man courting a native woman, while others point to the shuffling footwork from a native man attempting to dance while fettered by iron chains around the ankle. Still others believe it is a direct import from Guinea, which has a popular cumbe dance form.
Cumbia's form was solidifed in the 1940s when it spread from the rural countryside to urban and middle-class audiences. Mambo, big band and porro brass band influences were combined by artists like Lucho Bermúdez to form a refined form of cumbia that soon entered the Golden Age of Cumbia during the 1950s. Disco Fuentes, the largest and most influential record label in the country, was founded during this time. Fruko, known as the Godfather of Salsa, introduced Cuban salsa to Colombia and helped bring Discos Fuentes to national prominence by finding artists like La Sonora Dinamita, who brought cumbia to Mexico, where it remains popular.
It is worth pointing out that the "classic" cumbia known throughout Colombia is the Cumbia Cienaguera. This song reflects a uniquely Colombian feel known as "sabor" (flavour) and "ambiente" (atmosphere). Arguably, this song has remained a Colombian staple through the years and is widely known as Colombia's unofficial national anthem. Some artist are Los Hispanos, Los Graduados,Los Black Stars,Los Golden Boys,Los Teen Agers,and Los Corraleros De Majagual
[edit] Vallenato
Main article: Vallenato
Vallenato arose in Valledupar on Colombia's Atlantic Coast and only gained popularity elsewhere in the country in the 1980s. Its origins are shrouded in mystery but are said to have begun with Francisco el Hombre, who allegedly defeated Satan in a musical contest. Based around the accordion, vallenato has long been connected with cumbia. Influential artists include Alejo Durán and, more recently, Alfredo Gutiérrez and Lisandro Meza. In addition to the accordion, the bass guitar has been a common part of vallenato ensembles since it was introduced by Caliya in the mid-1960s. The most recent modernization of vallenato occurred in 1993 when Carlos Vives released Clásicos de la Provincia, which made him into a star and changed the face of vallenato.
Vallenato has spawned several subgenres, including vallenato-protesta, which is known for socially aware lyrics, and charanga vallenata, which was invented by Cubans in the United States like progenitor Roberto Torres.
[edit] Bambuco
Bambuco is an indigenous form of music, sometimes known as Música del interior.Bambuco is said that it is originated from the Muisca Indians due to it sad and slow rhythm. Its popularity has long been , but was extremely popular across Colombia from the mid-1920s to the late 1930s. Artists include Estudiantina,Los Carranguerros De Raquira, Jaime Llano González, Jorge Villamil and the Morales Pino Trio.
[edit] Porro
Porro bands are an enthusiastic form of big band music that came from Sucre, Córdoba and Sabana de Bolívar. The brass ensembles are modeled after European military bands. Influential porros include La Orquestra Lucho Bermudez, Matilde Diaz, Pacho Galan, Banda de 11 Enero,La Sonora Cordobesa, La Sonora Cienaguera, Orquesta Climaco Sarmiento and Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros.
[edit] Música llanerra
Música llanerra is a harp-led form of music from Los Llanos popular throughout Colombia. It includes the traditional joropo musical style, and is known for verbal contests called contrapunteo. Past artists include Alfredo Rolando Ortiz (born in Cuba), Alma Llanera (band), Cimarron, Luis Ariel Rey, Carlos Rojas, Sabor Llanero, Arnulfo Briceño and Orlando Valdemarra.
[edit] Colombian Salsa
Salsa music was born among Puerto Ricans and Cubans, and soon spread to Colombia, popularized by Fruko y sus Tesos and Discos Fuentes. Artists like Joe Arroyo followed, inventing a distinctively Colombian form of salsa. Though it is salsa all the same one can hear the difference between Cuban salsa and Colombian salsa. Other influential Colombian salsa musicians include Cristian Del Real "Timbal Genius", Grupo Niche, Alquimia, La Misma Gente, Los Titanes, Los Nemus del Pacífico, Orquesta Guayacán and Grupo Galé.
[edit] Champeta and African-diasporic music
Some Colombian communities, such as Chocó, Cartagena and Providencia Island, have large African-descendant communities. Unlike most of the country, cultural mixing with native and European influences have been rare, and, especially in El Chocó, music has changed little since being imported from West Africa. Providencia Island is also home to a type of folk music which is closely related to mento, a Jamaican folk form. Most influentially, however, is the city of Cartagena and its champeta music which has been influenced by soukous, compas and raggae. Champeta musicians have included Luis Towers, El Afinaíto, El Sayayín, El Pupy and Boogaloo, while others, like Elio Boom, have incorporated Jamaican raggamuffin music to champeta. Another noteworthy band is BIP, who originally did champeta music and currently are doing reggaeton, without leaving behind their champeta roots.
[edit] Currulao
This is one of the most African influenced-styles in all of Colombia, and has its roots among the AfroColombian/African-descendant/Black people of the Pacific coast.
In its most basic form, the currulao is played by a group of three musicians.
One musician plays a 6-8 rhythm on a drum known as a "cununo", which superficially resembles the "alegre" drum (used in Cumbia) to the untrained eye, but is narrower and taller. The Currulao rhythm is created by both striking the skin of the drum with the one's hand and tapping the side of the drum with a small stick.
The second musician keeps time on a shaker known in parts of Colombia as a "guasau", which is typically a hollow metal or wooden cylinder filled with stones or beans.
The third musician plays a syncopated melody on a marimba known as a Chonta Marimba. This marimba is indigenous to Colombia and is named for the chonta palm whose wood is used to construct its keys. The tuning of the marimba corresponds to the tuning of a major scale. Chonta marimbas typically do not include keys that correspond to the black keys of a piano. In addition to chonta palm keys, the chonta marimba also includes resonanting tubes made of guadua bamboo, a bamboo species indigenous to Colombia.
Many groups in Colombia perform this traditional style of music. Currently, the most renowned groups include Grupo Socavón, Grupo Gualajó, and Grups Bahia Trio.
In the United States two Colombian Bands performing this genre with authentic traditional instruments are La Cumbiamba NY, on the east coast (New York), and Aluna Band in the west coast (San Francisco)
[edit] Contemporary Music
In the late 1950s, Mexican rock artists like Enrique Guzmán and César Costa became very popular in Colombia. Soon, native rock bands like Los Speakers gained a wide following. Starting in 1967 (see 1967 in music), native bands like Genesis (unrelated to the more famous band Genesis of the same name) fused native musical forms (like cumbia) with rock. Rock in Colombia gained great popularity during the 80's with the rise of Argentinean Rock bands such as Soda Stereo, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs or Los Enanitos Verdes. During the 90's, many punk and heavy metal bands appeared in Bogotá, of which the most famous is Aterciopelados. Currently, Doctor Krápula, a rock band with strong ska influences that is known for making covers of traditional Latin American songs, enjoys great popularity.
Colombian pop has been growing recently with artists like Fonseca, San Alejo or Mauricio y Palo de Agua. Pop with strong traces of traditional Colombian music is also rising currently, Los De Adentro and Maia representing this trend.
Many Colombian artists are recognized internationally. Singer-songwriter Juanes swept the Latin Grammys in 2003 with his album Un Día Normal which has become very popular in the US. Other artists like Carlos Vives, Soraya and Cabas have become known worldwide.
[edit] Shakira
The biggest musical star from Colombia is Shakira. After the success of her album Pies Descalzos in 1993, Shakira began working with producer Emilio Estefan Jr. and recorded ¿Dónde Están los Ladrones? which sold millions world wide. Proving herself as more than a "studio pop-diva" in her MTV Unplugged presentation, Shakira went on to make an English album Laundry Service which debuted at #3 in the Billboard Charts of the USA. Her most successfull song Hips Don't Lie,which sold over 10 millions copies and downloads worldwide,topped in over 70 countries #1. Shakira sold till now fifty millions albums,and millions of singles. She won also 10 Grammys. Because of her fame and her Pies Descalzos Fundation,which builds schools in Colombia,Shakira got her own statue in Barranquilla,her hometown.
[edit] See also
| Latin American music |
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Argentina - Bolivia - Brazil - Chile - Colombia - Costa Rica - Cuba - Dominican Republic - Ecuador - El Salvador |
[edit] References
- Burton, Kim. "El Sonido Dorado". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 372-385. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
