Aguinaldo

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Music of Puerto Rico
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Aguinaldo is a folk genre of Christmas music in several Latin American countries, based on an archaic form of Spanish Christmas carols. Aguinaldo music is often performed by what is called parrandas - a casual group of people, often family or friends, who merrily go from house to house taking along their singing.

Puerto Rican aguinaldo

In Puerto Rico, the aguinaldo is a musical gift offered during the Christmas season and is a tradition inherited from the island's Spanish colonizers. As a musical gift, aguinaldos are mostly played by "parranderos" or "trullas" during the Christmas holidays. This is a practice that is slowly being lost.

Originally, aguinaldos were "villancicos" with strong religious connotations but soon evolved to "coplas" (quartets) and "decimas" (ten-verses compositions) about all kinds of everyday topics. Aguinaldos were played with typical instruments such as the bordonúa, a tiple, a cuatro, a carracho or güiro, and maracas. With bordonua players becoming more difficult to find, the guitar became a staple accompanying the cuatro. Today, panderos (also known as "pleneras"), brass instruments and whatever makes noise, are used.

As a genre, the aguinaldo is played mostly on the radio on key Christmas holidays in Puerto Rico; the day before Christmas and in Christmas, on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and the day before Three Kings Day and on Three King's Day (January 6th). Aguinaldos are also played at Christmas church celebrations.

Venezuelan aguinaldo

In Venezuela, aguinaldo is a genre of Christmas music. Aguinaldos generally have six verses.

Philippine aguinaldo

In the Philippines, the word aguinaldo has come to refer instead to the giftusually cash or coinscollected by small groups of children that go carolling. A traditional instrument used is a makeshift tambourine made of several tansan (aluminium bottle caps) strung on some wire. Carollers solicit homeowners with the chant "Namamasko po!" (approx. "wassailing!"), and after singing wait to be rewarded with aguinaldo.

Trinidadian aguinaldo

Aguinaldo or Serenal is a music genre used in Parang (Parranda) a type of Christmas music that came to Trinidad and Tobago from Venezuela. Parranderos announce their arrival in song and seek to gain entry to the houses of family and friends to relate the story of the birth of Christ, and to share in the joy of the message of Peace on Earth and to all People of Good Will.

See also

References

  • Atlas de Tradiciones de Venezuela, Fundación Bigott, 1998.

External links

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