NICARAGUA: MUSIC AND DANCE

The majority of the music from Nicaragua is a fusion of cultures. Indigenous instruments and styles were mixed with the instruments and styles brought over from the Spanish. Throughout the years, other cultures contributed their own musical flavors to the mix. Today, pop music, has elements from all over the Caribbean, Central and South America, the US, and Europe. 

Even within the country, different tribes have their own variations and styles they are known for, and different regions have their own variations based on the make up of the people. For example, the Pacific coast has more Spanish influence on the indigenous music while the North and Central regions have more of a German influence because of the people who settled there. The Caribbean coast is known for a variety of music called Palo de Mayo, which is a type of dance music performed during the festival of the same name. The Garifuna (who I talked about when I did Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras) are known for a style called Punta. And there are certain pan-Caribbean genres with origins elsewhere that are also popular in Nicaragua such reggae, soca, and reggaeton (my favorite!).

I used to play pit percussion when I was in high school and in college, so I’m pretty excited to hear that Nicaraguan music uses the marimba. It’s one of my faves. In fact, I played on a 5-octave marimba at the Woodwind Brasswind store years ago. However, the main difference is in how it’s played. They make themselves unique by playing it by sitting down and holding the instrument between the knees. Other instruments that are commonly heard in Nicaraguan music are the guitar, the guitarrilla (kind of like a mandolin), and the bass fiddle.

Festivals are great places to see traditional dance. I had already mentioned the Palo de Mayo festival. And if you read my previous post on art and literature, I mentioned a satirical theatrical performance called El Gueguense that mixes theatre, dance, and music using both indigenous and Spanish influences. Another type of dance is called folklore and typically tied to patron saints. These are also often performed at town festivals. 

When it comes to today’s music in Nicaragua, I sampled several bands. The first one I listened to is Perrozompopo. I liked their music; they had a sound that reminded me of a quasi-Carlos Vives from Colombia. Their music was characterized by acoustic guitar along with melodic vocal lines, strings, percussion, and piano. 

I also listened to Duo Guardabarranco. Their music seemed to fall in the same category as Perrozompopo. I liked it, but to the untrained ear, it’s hard to tell the groups apart.

To go along with that, I would also put Moisés Gadea there as well. I love Latin acoustic guitar, so I liked listening to this. While a few songs deviated in style slightly, it was highly reliant on the acoustic guitar sound.

Monroy y Surmenage is a band that has a little bit different style to their music. I’m not even sure how to describe it; underneath the rock style, it’s almost ethereal like cross between minimal trance and new age--they remind me of The Killers in a way. Yet, somehow it works. Kudos to whatever musical alchemy they’re doing. 

And finally, Nicaragua has their own metal bands as well. I came across some live versions of songs by Kerfodermo. It’s a lot of screaming mixed with some singing, but it’s loud, and I kind of like it. I wish there were more of their stuff on Spotify. 

I also took a listen to La Resistencia. What set them apart when I listened to them, was their use of a brass section. So, in essence, they were almost like a metal ska band – and I love this! I may have to find more of their stuff. 

And now I came to Torombolo, one of Nicaragua’s hip-hop artists I listened to. There’s a definite Latin flavor to their music. And although the rhythms sometimes differ, I would venture to put it in the reggaeton category. There were several songs from the Calibre album that I enjoyed, although sometimes the music seemed almost MIDI-artificial in places.

Carlos de Nicaragua is one of their reggae musicians I came across. I love reggae, and I know there are several different styles of reggae depending on what other musical styles the musicians merge with it. But I like this style. Several of the songs I listened to reminded me of an updated Bob Marley-style of reggae.

Up next: the food

GUATEMALA: MUSIC AND DANCE

Guatemalan music has a surprising variety of styles.  When the Europeans arrived during the 1500s, they brought along their religion and their music.  The Spanish introduced plenty of Flemish and Spanish liturgical songs to the Guatemalans. It didn’t take long before the indigenous peoples began to learn the art of contrapuntal composition and began making their own music.

After Guatemala gained independence, many young promising musicians went to France and Italy to study music. They learned from the best and learned all the latest trends at that time and brought it back to Guatemala. Baroque music generally gave way to Classical styles and soon Guatemalan symphonies and operas began to be performed in the cultural centers and churches across the country.  By the end of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century, several composers started looking to their own roots in Mayan music. There were several operas written about Mayan folklore and the Popol Vuh (I mentioned this book in the previous post), incorporating Mayan traditional music into the opera as well.  Symphonies, choirs, orchestras, and opera companies popped up around the country during the 20^th century and kept the idea of this new classical-Guatemalan music alive.

The most prominent instrument in Guatemalan music is the marimba. Classified as an idiophone, its ancestor, the balafon, originated in West Africa and was brought over during the slave trade. Once they arrived in Guatemala, they created what is known as the chromatic marimba, similar to what we know now.  Although the area that it was created in is now part of Mexico, it is still considered a Guatemalan invention and serves as its national instrument. Many famous marimba players have risen to fame, such as Mariano Valverde; Paco Pérez’s famous waltz “Luna de Xelajú” is one of the most famous marimba pieces. When I was in college, I visited the Woodwind & Brasswind store in South Bend, Indiana, and I got to play on a 5 ½ octave marimba. It was surreal. (It’s made by Yamaha and currently for sale on Woodwind & Brasswind’s website for $15,274.99. You might want to pick up two or three for that deal. It does qualify for free shipping, so there you go.) 

Dance is either divided up between pre-Hispanic dances and Hispanic dances. Many of the pre-Hispanic dances are named after animals (Dance of the Deer or Dance of the Monkeys) and performed for a particular societal function.  The Dance of the Deer is a ritual dance for the annual Deer Hunt for food and materials for the community.  The Dance of the Monkeys is based on stories from the Popol Vuh.  Dances of the Hispanic period tend to immortalize battles (Dance of the Conquest), folk stories and pastoral life (Dance of the Pascarines, Dance of the Cowboy, Dance of the Mexicans), or religious themes (Dance of the Xacalcojes, Dance of the Moors and Christians). There are many dance festivals that take place throughout the year across the country, some lasting several days.

As far as popular music goes, Guatemalans listen to a lot of music from Mexico, the Caribbean, and other areas of Latin America. But they have plenty of their own musicians as well. One musician that I listened to is Ricardo Arjona.  His simple acoustic guitar reminds me a little of Carlos Vives at times. I listened to the album Viaje. I especially liked this album.   It was the type of album I could listen to while I work. (And I did.)

Bohemia Suburbana is a rock band that played on the edge of new psychedelic rock. They reminded me a little of a cross between U2 and the Brazilian band Skank at times. I liked what I heard from the album Sombras En El Jardín. They have four albums available on iTunes for $9.99. 

Viernes Verde is another band I listened to. They have a very strong 1990s alternative rock sound that I love. I would especially recommend the album Namaste. They use the deeper driving guitar riffs, but not too much. These catchy riffs and unexpected chord changes at times keep the listener interested. I think they remind me a little of the band Live at times.

I’m so glad that I found out about La Dubvolution. It's reggae music, and it’s all very chill. I love it so much.  I listened to the album 3 Es Sonsuelto En Souldub, and I could totally picture listening to this while relaxing with a glass of wine or a cold beer.  I think I need to get this album. It’s also available on iTunes for $9.99. 

I liked Malacates Trebol Shop’s album Si!. But it was to be expected since I really like ska. It’s a fun listen. I think this would make a great album to listen to in the car.

Magda Angélica is a Guatemalan singer whose album K’aslem is very good. She’s been instrumental in promoting the musical traditions of the Mayans in both Mexico and in Guatemala and has won several awards for her extraordinary work.

Guatemala also has its fair share of hard rock. I included two bands into my Spotify playlist: Los Mojarras and Astraroth.  Los Mojarras has more of a 1980s hair band hard rock style but mixed with a little bit of The Ramones. And actually, they use such a wide array of styles in their music that I have to respect that. Astraroth is a very typical metal band. Complete with gunshot-sounding percussion, guttural screams, and sewer-deep guitar riffs, metal fans should really give this a listen.

Up next: the food

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: MUSIC AND DANCE

Rooted in the musical styles of central and western Africa, Congo is no stranger to a strong music and rhythmic background.  Some of the more common instruments are xylophones and marimbas, as well as the mvet, which is somewhat of a cross between a zither and a harp, except that it has one or two gourds that act as resonators. Of course, they also use a variety of drums and percussion instruments as well. 

Much of the music that is played and listened to in the Republic of the Congo is highly influenced by its neighbor with a similar name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (or DRC). One style called soukous is a major influence on the music scenes of most major cities in central and western Africa. Soukous is a sort of cross between Cuban rumba, American jazz, and traditional Congolese music.  It rose to popularity in the 1950s and 1960s as it entertained the dance halls across this area and still remains as one of the favorite styles of African music in general. 

American- and French-influenced hip-hop is also highly popular with artists such as Bisso na Bisso and Passi. I really like the group Bisso na Bisso; I found the album Le 15 Mai 99 on Spotify and have listened to it a dozen times. I also found it on iTunes for $8.99. I like their style: you can tell it’s been influenced by soul, by jazz, by blues, by Latin music – but that may be the soukous speaking. It’s catchy, and I like it. I might buy the album one day (even though I’m not a huge fan of live albums and generally avoid them, but this one might be an exemption.) The video above is the song "Tata N'Zambe," and every time I hear it, I think they're saying "zombie." Two other groups that bear mentioning are Extra Musica and Les Bantous de la Capitale.

The Congolese has used dance as a means of expression since the earliest of days. The Kyébé-Kyébé dance of the Mbochis tribe is one of the more famous dances. Another famous dance is the traditional stilt dance used with brightly-colored puppets.  During the 1920s and 1930s, people would come out on Sunday afternoons to the different cultural centers of Brazzaville – the largest being the Grande Place in Poto-Poto – and hold these large dance competitions. Drummers would line up and perform different rhythms that were indicative of their particular section of the city or tribal background (like the walla rhythm that is commonly used by the Kongo people), and while just about anyone could join in the dances, many of the serious dancers dressed in full traditional costumes. They’d go on all afternoon and at the end, there would be a prize for the best dancers. I found this video (above) and would LOVE to find something like this to show my kids. The costumes are amazing, and it makes me think that this is where the choreographers who did The Lion King live-stage version of the musical got their inspiration. 

Up next: the food

BELIZE: MUSIC AND DANCE

Although the British had its presence in Belize for centuries, the largest influences on their music come from the Africans who were brought there and the indigenous peoples who were there, and the intermixing of all cultures that came from it.

One of the genres most identified with Belizean music is brukdown. The term is most likely taken from the phrase “broken-down calypso” and is related to Trinidadian calypso music. Brukdown is a combination of Creole harmonies based on European styles, African rhythms as well as the call-and-response format. It’s really more of a rural music form. Some of the instruments that you’ll find in brukdown music are banjos, guitars, drums, bells, accordion, and a donkey’s jawbone and/or grater. In recent times, these bands have also been called “boom and chime groups.” One of the most famous brukdown musicians is Wilfred Peters, long considered one of Belize’s national icons.

Mestizo music is characterized mainly by marimba music. (I am a huge fan of the marimba, even though I mostly used to play the xylophone in college and part of high school. Once I went to the Woodwind and Brasswind store in South Bend, IN, and they had a 5 ½ octave marimba. It was so beautiful. I may or may not have drooled on it.) A marimba is in the keyboard percussion family and usually made of wood (mostly rosewood, but sometimes mahogany). It’s played with mallets, and the heads are made of yarn wrapped around rubber. There are several marimba bands that gather and perform, but probably the most famous bands are the Los Angeles Marimba Band and the Alma Belicena.

The Garifuna also have many of their own styles of music, the most popular being punta or punta rock. Punta is mostly performed at holidays, parties, and other social events. Punta is also a dance that accompanies the music, where one couple dances in the center of a circle, and the people surrounding them clap in rhythm. Lyrics are not just limited to Garifuna, but also may be sung in Kriol, English, or Spanish. However, punta rock is almost always sung in Garifuna or Kriol.  Some of the most famous punta rock musicians you’ll run across is Andy Palacio, Mohobub Flores, Pen Cayetano (yeah, the same as the artist), and Paul Nabor. I found Andy Palacio’s album Wátina at the library and listened to it all day in the car on my day off today. I absolutely love it, and my daughter told me that “everyone in the world needs to have a copy of it.” In some songs, it reminds me of the rhythms and harmonies in some of the music from the Cape Verdean musician Cesaria Évora.

Because of its ties and proximity to Jamaica, the influence of reggae and dancehall is also really popular. Some of the more popular dancehall musicians that are listened to in Belize are Vybz Kartel and Mavado (both from Jamaica). I have both in my Spotify playlist for Belize, and I like both. But I’ve been a fan of reggae and dancehall for many years, although these two artists were new names to me. Even though they aren’t exactly from Belize, I included them anyway.

Up next: the food!