Daniel Alexander Apatiga
Latin American music history and background: A brief Ethnomusicology Paper
In my essay, I will organize Latin American music into its three different historical periods: before the Spanish and Portuguese invasions, the Spanish and Portuguese colonial period, and the pre-modern period. Most of my focus will be on Méxican music; though I will also analyze music from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, looking solely at Spanish conquered lands. Latin American music has many styles, genres, sub-genres, just like the music we listen to that is popular in the United States. But tastes are different from culture to culture, and that is my main focus in this paper—I will describe how music has evolved differently from among the Latin American civilizations, and how they have assimilated one another in terms of music, also taking into consideration Europe’s vast array of styles, genres, and instruments.
The first music of present-day Latin America was far from simple but complex and had many unique instruments unknown to other civilizations. Each geographical location developed differently, musically. Those were the Huehuetl, which was a three foot tall drum that originated in México; the bihuela, which was a guitar-like instrument; the maraca, which originated somewhere in South America and is used for dancing and makes a rattling sound; the marimba, which originated in Central America that sounds a lot like the xylophone, except it's a lot larger. There were many flutes of various complexities, which had a range between 4 to 9 holes, with the majority of them having only 4 to 5. The scales used in this pre-colonial period were pentatonic, which interestingly, were also used in Greece during its early history. In addition to these instruments, there were also horns, seashells, and “little pipes that made a shrill sound” (Hague 6). On the Yucatan peninsula in present day México, the Mayan civilization was on the decline. According to Bishop Landa of Yucatan, some instruments used milk from a certain tree, had rubber (like the ones near the Aztec civilization), used whole turtle shell "that is played with the palm of the hand and emits a melancholy sound" (Hague 4). Like the Aztecs, the Mayans had flutes of reed. Some instruments were made out of bones from deer, and from large snail shells. In Peru, the Incans had many of the same instruments. But they also had panpipes and whistling jars. In addition to the prior materials mentioned, some used in the construction of these instruments: seeds to produce a rattling sound, stone, animal horns, and "gourds with pebbles". Quena is a Peruvian flute which is still popular today. Among the others is the Ocarina, like the one seen in a popular video game made in Japan—The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
The settings for musical events in the pre-Spanish and Portuguese time period varied. Instruments were used in "war dance" settings, which are still being ritually performed today in parts of México. In these rituals, certain modes (there were "26" not unlike Indian Ragas) would only be used for specific purposes and were not to be used outside of these contexts (Hague 6). Some instruments had a single specific use. For instance, the flute had the specific use of expressing love, and it was not considered a cultural norm to be used in other ways.
In present day México, primarily from Aztec culture, poems were set to music, and these were called the “Cantares Mexicanos” poems. Only seventy-nine are remaining. They are "pantheistic poems"--not Spaniard duple poems as the word “Cantares” would suggest, and were written before the Spanish invasion (Hague 8). After reading an example myself, there are some very beautiful lines a lot like some of the poetry I've attempted to write. The poem referenced Aztec Gods, Pachacamac and Viracocha, in its description of affection for a princess. In the poem, words such as "cup", "creation", and other references to everyday objects and natural events--such as the weather—attempted to symbolize desire and lust (Hague 9).
During the colonial period after the conquistadors from Spain arrived in Latin America, Spain had a unique “western” music background. Spain is a mix of Romans, Visigoths, Berbers (the Moors), and an even earlier group of Jews, who had arrived before the introduction of Catholicism by the Romans (City of Lights). Spain used to be called Al-Andalus, which is Arabic for “Land of Light.” The Berbers successfully conquered Spain and introduced their music and culture, which spurred a great period of innovation in music. Great musicians and composers from all over the expanding Arabian empire traveled and influenced Spanish music, and therefore, the subsequent music of the colonial period in Latin America. When the Spaniards invaded, the Catholic missionaries sought to teach the natives their musical traditions. In doing so, the Spaniards introduced both sacred and secular music, and they introduced the Latin and Castilian languages in their hymns and chants that they sang during church services (Hague 30). Other than these introductions and fusions of music traditions, music in Latin America didn't develop like it did in Europe during the colonial period. Latin music wasn't in any way inferior, but it had its own styles, sub-genres, while using western music as a new starting place, which was considered by the indigenous as something to be embraced.
The various settings for music especially with the introduction of Catholicism changed while the ancient ways were put under the carpet. Additional settings that developed during the colonial period include: festivals of a Christian nature, church services that performed chants and hymns, and religious parties specifically during Christmas where people sang in their homes. While religions changed, the passion in their music remained the same. Folk-music expressed and still expresses secular thoughts of the common folk in dances, which is diverse. There were also dramatic religious plays concurrent with the Baroque period of such contemporaries as Bach and Haydn, written in with a religious temperament. The home was also a place to hear music, but only a few wealthy people who were part of the upper, noble/royal classes had access to expensive, European-designed instruments. Of these instruments, they had harps, pianos, guitars, homemade fiddles, etc. They were either manufactured in México or imported from Europe. An example of a new form made possible by these new instruments is Albazo. It’s a type of sub-genre in Latin American music from Ecuador that is a rhythmic dance, which uses "saxophones, accordion, and a trumpet" (Schechter 2).
Because music in Latin America was already sacred, the Spaniards and Portuguese took an ethnocentric view, disregarding the indigenous’ music as being primitive, backwards, and having an outside appearance of complexity but lacked depth. This was the case with all but a few who respected and wished to learn, like most creoles and mestizos who sought to acculturate themselves. Philip Means, a creole who sought acculturation, wrote that while conducting archaeological work around the Andes, "...the hidden fires of artistic and political fervor still burn within the breasts of this oppressed, this miserable, this despised race… the indigenes of the Andean region are indeed in a tragic plight. Not until true understanding of their genius, of their requirements, and for their practical worth is won, will they come into their own, and in the ingredients of that understanding the materials provided by archaeology will constitute the major part." The natives, out of fear of deviance from the Spanish expectations, assimilated their ways and in doing so, lost many of their practices in music.
During the pre-modern period in México before it had achieved its independence from Spain, the conjunto music style dominated its culture, and it still does today. Conjunto is a style written by the statistically dominant mestizos and creoles, the latter of whom are increasingly rare in México. México did not have slaves as was the case in the United States and the Caribbean, where there were many mulattos and complete mixes of races. Still popular today, conjunto is “music of the poor people" (Peña 114). During my travels to Mexico City, Mexico, I have come across many conjunto bands, usually in restaurants or public locations, of whom are paid usually by tips, not by the hour. They wear traditional Méxican clothing, bandito-like, with sombreros, but no guns or ammunition; they are armed with their instruments and wait for an audience nearby before they begin performing. Usually a typical band consists of at least 4, which can get as large as 12-14. Usually they play with Western instruments such as one or more guitars, one accordion, and maybe one bass, and there are usually at least two people singing simultaneously for the vocals. Their music is secular and folk-like, usually about work or a woman in a distant place. I've rarely seen a woman perform in their ensembles. They are almost always at touristy places, such as the lake in Xochimilco, which is within Mexico City. In my experience, they are always polite and they never beg.
In conclusion, the history and background of Latin American music can be summarized as being nostalgic. All Latin American countries have used themes which attempt to express the "past times, their love of place, their frequent praise for the local—local landscapes, women ways of life, and musical instruments" (Schechter Page 1). Lastly, I wish to conclude with an example that embodies this, which seems to follow a strophic and a meter, which is set to music.
“In a beautiful place
It is getting smokey
you are living
My poor tiny house
It is getting smoky
You will remember.
Beautiful eggbread
It is getting smoky
you are eating
My toasted corn
it is getting smoky
You will remember.”
(Schechter Page 1)
Bibliography
Levack, Brian P., Edward Muir, Michael Maas, and Meredith Veldman. The West. Encounters &
Transformations. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Princeton, NJ: Pearson Education, 2007. Print.
Hague, Eleanore. Latin American Music. Santa Ana, CA: Fine Arts Press, 1934. Print.
Schechter, John Mendell. Music in Latin American Culture: Regional Traditions. New York: Schirmer, 1999. Print.
Peña, Manuel H. The Texas-Mexican Conjunto. 1st ed. Austin: University of Texas, 1985. Print.
The City of Lights: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain. Dir. Robert Gardner. Unity Production Foundation, 2007. DVD.
