Afro-Latin American and Popular

MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA

T he music of Latin America is the product of three major influences—indigenous,

Spanish-Portuguese, and African. It is also referred to as Latin music because of impact on the
countries colonized by Spain and Portugal, spanning the following areas:

 Andean region (a mountain system of western South America along the

Pacific coast from Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego) – Argentina, Bolivia, Chile,
Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
 Central America – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, and Puerto Rico
 Brazil

At the same time, because of interracial relations and migration, the above-named
countries also came to be populated by five major ancestral groups as follows:

 Indian descendants of the original native inhabitants of the region before the
arrival of the colonizers
 African descendants from Western and Central Africa
 European descendants of colonizerz mainly from Spain and Portugal, but also
those of French, Dutch, Italian, and British traders
 Asian descendants of migrants from China, Japan, India, and Indonesia/Java
 Mixed descendants from the above-named groups


INFLUENCES ON LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC

Indigenous Latin-American Music

Before the arrival of the Spanish, Portuguese, and other European colonizers, the
natives were found to be using local drum and percussion instruments such as the
guiro(open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side), maracas (a
gourd or a gourd-shaped rattle filled with seeds or pebbles and used, often in a pair,
as a rhythm instrument), and turtle shells, Wind instruments like the zampoña (pan
pipe) and quena (notched-end flute) were traditionally made out of aquatic canes.

Materials for making indigenous instruments ranged from hollow tree trunks, animal
skins, fruit shells, dry seeds, cane clay, and hardwood trees, to jaguar claws, animal
and human bones, and specially-treates inflated eyes of tigers.q
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The indigenous music of Latin America was largely functional in nature, being used for
religious worship and ceremonies. The use of instruments, as well as singing and
dancing, served to implore the gods for a good harvest or victory in battle, to guard
against sickness and natural disasters, and of course to provide recreation.

Afro-Latin American Music

The African influence on Latin American music is most pronounced in its rich
and varied rhythmic patterns produced by drums and various percussion
instruments. Complex layering of rhythmic patterns was a favorite device,
where fast-paced tempos add to the rhythmic density. Vocal music was often
deep-chested while instrumental music greatly relied on drums and buzzers
to produce rich sounds and occasional loud volume levels for added intensity

Euro-Latin American Music

The different regoins of Latin America adopted various characteristics from
thieir European colonizers. Melodies of the Renaissance period were used in
Southern Chile and the Colombian Pacific coasts, while step-wise melodies
were preferred in the heavily Hispanic and Moorish-Influenced areas of
Venezuela and Colombia. Alternating dual metes, such as ⁶/⁸ and ⁴/⁴, known
as “sesquialtera” found in Chile and adopted in Cuba and Puerto Rico, were
immortalized in the song I Wanna Be in America from Leonard Bernstein’s
Broadway hit West Side Story. Other European influences were seem in the
texture of Euro-Latin American music, from unaccompanied vocal solos to
thos accompanied by stringed instruments.

Mixed American Music

The diversity of races and cultures from the Native Americans, Afro-Latin
Americans, and Euro-Latin Americans account for the rich combinations of
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musical elements. This musical fusion, combining native instruments with
European counterparts and musical theories, was

futher enriched by the Instruments brought by the Aftican slaves. The massive
infussion of African culture also led to the introduction of their music and dance forms
such as the Afro-Cuban rumba, the Jamaican reggae, the Colombian cumbia, and the
Brazilian samba.
Popular Latin American Music

Latin America has produced a number genres and forms that had been influences by
European folk music, African traditional music, and native sources. Much of its popular
music has in turn found its way to America, Europe, and eventually the rest of the world.
Its danceable rhythms, passionate melodies, and exotic harmonies continue to enthrall
music and dance enthusiasts worldwide. Some of these Latin American popular music
forms are the tango, bossa nova, samba, son, and salsa.

1. Samba – The samba is a dance form of African origin Which evolved into an
African-Brazilian favorite in the working class and slum districts of Rio de
Janeiro. Its lively rhythm consists of a ²/⁴ meter that is danced as theee steps
per measure, thus crating a feeling of a ³/⁴ meter instead. It was meant to be
executed for singing, dancing, and parading in the Rio carnival. Samba has
several variations, so that there is no clear-cut definition of a single samba
form. Its most adventurous kind is known as the batucada, referring to a large
percussion ensemble of up to a hundred players or an intensely polyrhythmic
style of drumming.

2. Son – The son is a fusion of the popular music or canciones (songs) of Spain
and the African rumba rhythms of Bantu origin. Originating in Cuba, it is usually
played with the tres (guitar), contrabass, bongos, maracas, and claves (two
wooden sticks that are hit together). Although the son is seldom heard today, it
continues to influence present-day Latin American music, particularly as the
forerunner of the salsa.

3. Salsa – The salsa is a social dance with marked influences from Cuba and
Puerto Rico that started in New York in the mid 1970s. Its style contains
elements from the Cuban and Afro-Caribbean dance form pachanga and
guaguanco.
The execution of the salsa involves shifting the weight by stepping sideways,
causing the hips to more while the upper body remains level. The arms and
Afro-Latin American and Popular
shoulders are also incorporated with the upper body position. A moderste
tempo is used throughout, while the upper and lower body act in seeming
disjoint as described above.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF LATIN AMERICA

The varied cultures that developed in Latin America gave rise to different
types of wind and percussion instruments. As with the African continent,
Latin America’s rich history, dating back thousands of years to the Aztec,
Maya, and other ancient cultural groups, understandably generated divers
crative approaches to making music.

Aztec and Mayan Instruments

In Central America, the ancient civilizations of the Aztec and Maya peoples
used various instruments mainly for religious functions and these were
usually played by professional musicians. As some instruments were
considered holy and it was further believer that music was supposed to
glorify the gods, mistakes in playing these instruments were considered
offensive and insulting to them. Among these ancient instruments are the
fofollowing

Tlapitzalli
The tlapitzalli is a flute variety from the Aztec culture made of clay with
decorations of abstract or images of their deities.

Teponaztli
The teponaztli is a Mexican Slit Drum hollowed out and carved from a piece
of hardwood. It is then decorated with designs in relief or carved to represent
human figures or animals to be used for both religious and recreational
purposes.

Concha
The cocha is a wind instruments usually made from the sheel of a large sea
snail. It is prepared by cutting a hole in the shell’s spine near the apex, then
blown into as if it were a trumpet.

Rasp
Afro-Latin American and Popular
The rasp is a hand percussion instrument whose sound is produced by
scraping a stick (or a similar object) that has a series of indentations or
notches with another stick, creating rattling effects.

Huehueti
The huehueti is an upright tubular drum used by the Aztecs and other
ancienct civilizations. It is made of wood opened at the bottom and standing
on three legs cut from the base. Its top membrane of stretched animal skin is
beaten by the hand or a wooden mallet.

Whistles
Whistles are instruments made of natural elements such as bone from
animals. The eagle-bone whistle is the most common. It produces a series of
high-pitched notes which are similar to the cry of an eagle

Whistles can produce a wide variety of notes by varying the airflow and
pressure. In some areas, whistles are only used in ceremonies to call the
spirits.

Incan Musical Instruments

Among the Incas of South America two instrumental variesties were most
common:

Ocarina
The ocarina is an ancient vessel flute made of clay or ceramic with four to 12
finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body.

Zampoñas
Zampoñas or panpipes are ancient instruments from the Andes Mountains of
South America. They typically feature bamboo tubes of different lengths tied
together either in pairs or more to produce graduated pitches of sound. They
are played by blowing over the top of the tubes in the same way note. The
result iss a beautiful and airy sound that can be heard playing some of the
modt haunting melodies.
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Andean Musical Instruments

The Andean highlands also had their own varieties of flutes and string
instruments that include the following:

1. Siku
The siku (panpipe) is originaly from the Aymaras of Perú and Bolivia. It
is traditionally found all across the Andes, and is the main instruments
used in a musical genre known as sikuri. The pipes are made from
bamboo tubes, but have also been made from condor feathers, bone,
and many other materials. Different types of bamboo are used to
change the quality of the sound. Songo, or shallow-walled bamboo,
gives a louder, more resonant sound than a regular deep-walled
bamboo, but is less common due to its fragility. Siku is split across
two rows of pipes. The player must alternate rows with every note in
order to play a complete scale.

2. Wooden Tarka
The tarka is vertical duct flute with a mouthpiece similar to that of a
recorder. It is used during the rainy season and in tribal ceremonies to
mimic bird sounds. It sounds very primitive, soft, and mellow with a
rasp in the low range.

3. Quena
The quenabis a vertical cane flute made from fragile bamboo. Thus it is
only used during the dry season. It has six finger holes and one thumb
hole. It is open on both ends or the bottom is half-closed.

4. Charangio
Afro-Latin American and Popular
The charangio is a ten-stringed Andean guitar from Bolivia. It is the
size of a ukulele and is a smaller version of the mandolin, imitating the
early guitar and lute brought by the Spaniards. It produces bright
sounds and is often used in serenades in Southern Peru.