The influence that Mexican music has accumulated and then expanded all around the world is insurmountable. Mexican music, in general, cannot be defined in one way or another because of its rich and diverse heritage, in a similar image to the country itself. Mexico has absorbed numerous cultural influences from all over the world, beginning with the Mayan and Aztec traditions and their Empire to the global trade of the Spanish Empire and traditions from another continent adding to the traditional sounds. Cultural influences have allowed Mexican music to develop a unique sound over the years, combining many different traditional sounds together and become an international sensation. Regardless of a strict definition, music has always been an …show more content…
Those styles include Banda, Mariachi, Norteno, Ranchera, and Corrido, and the Son genres. It is hard to tell the majority of the time which genre came first. However, the Son genre was the first Mexican folk music that allowed Mariachi and Corrido to blossom. Mariachi then created the subgenre of ranchera and banda, which expanded the genre to incorporate different styles. Banda typically consists of about twelve to fifteen musicians playing marching band-based tunes with no stringed instruments, only clarinets, trumpets and french horns. Banda tells melodramatic stories that typically are marketed as pop tunes and involve themes of found love. This music is supposed to spark dancing in big crowds, whether during weddings, parties, or even on the street. Mariachi style is the music that most non-native Mexicans associate with Mexico. Typically, ten to fifteen musicians play various instruments, including trumpet, fiddle, violins or guitars. Similar to Mariachi, Ranchera became a symbol of Mexican identity. Originating in the 1920s, with a single cowboy and one guitar, it was a more standardised style of …show more content…
Many of her songs were even sung in Spanish, which created a whole new genre incorporating Mexican lyrics and American sound. As crossovers, became more prevalent, specifically with songs that were partly in Spanish and partly in English was guaranteed to reach a wider audience. One prime example of this, is 2017’s ‘Despacito’ with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. In the first year of the YouTube video of the song being released, it quickly rose to the most viewed video to ever debut on that platform. Mexican music is an important part of the country itself. Mexico cannot be given one definition of what their people and culture came to be, so why should their music be any different? Mexico has a rich history that encompasses a melting pot of different cultures all over the world coming together, throughout the centuries, to make a unique sound that grabs the attention of anyone hearing
I went and saw Mariachi Oro de Mi Tierra performed at the Herreras Salon and it was an amazing experience. The whole audience was just so cheerful, and everybody was having a great time. The Mariachi were dressed in black charro suits, and the instruments they had were violins, guitars, trumpets, vihuela, and guitarron. The whole atmosphere was just so lively, and everybody was dress in party attire. The music they played were dance, romantic, and sentimental songs, and the genres were either ranchera, cumbias or boleros. The songs that made people excited were La Bamba (1958), El Rey (1971), Gema (1959), El Mariachi Loco, La Bikina (1964), and Cielito Lindo (1882).
Den Tandt, Catherine and Richard A. Young. “Tradition and transformation in Latin American music.” The Cambridge Companion to Modern Latin American Culture. Ed. John King. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
The principal music played by these early Mariachis was the SON, the popular music of the day. A mixture of folk traditions from Spain, Mexico, and Africa, the son was found in many regions of the country. The son from Jalisco is called the son jaliscience. Sones from other regions include the son jarocho or veracruzano, from the region around the Gulf port of Veracruz. The most famous example of the son jarocho is La Bamba. A typical son huasteco, also known as the huapango, is the La Malague~n a.
Music comes in many shapes and forms, and has been a magical element of inspiration and encouragement throughout time. The art of music derives from many different things, such as culture and traditions. One such type of music is mariachi music, deriving from Mexican culture and traditions. Mariachi music is often an upbeat rhythm, consisting of a band of up to six to eight violins, two trumpets and a guitar. Unlike modern music and other music bands alike, mariachi bands lack in numbers when it comes to band size. Though they are small, their music brings great significance and life to the places they perform and the people that they touch with their joyous music. In this paper, I will be comparing the culture and style of mariachi music to twentieth century modern music.
Selena Quintanilla became one of the most influential artists up to date and one to have brought Tex-Mex, also known as Tejano music, a part of mainstream media. Tejano music has grown over the years extending thousands of miles along the Rio Grande from Texas to Mexico. With Selena bringing this genre of music to a new level of popularity, she grew a large impact in mingling together Mexican and American culture to a popular form of music heard today.
Mariachi has become the face of Mexican culture, and truly represents the music of Gonzales’ people. It is played in almost every occasion including funerals, weddings, quinceneras, parties, and marches. Gonzales explains this by saying, “Our art, our literature, our music”; He elaborates by naming mariachi under these categories. The author recognizes the significance of this music in his background. In one article, Collins states that “the only thing more Mexican than tequila is the mariachi” (Collins 1998). These words capture how immersed mariachi is in the author’s mores, therefore giving him purpose in mentioning it. Not only does mariachi define Mexican culture, it defines the beauty and soul of tradition.
The origins of the word "mariachi" are not very clear. One theory, that the word came from the French word for marriage has been totally discounted. Many historians believed that the word originated when a Frenchman named Maximillian was the emperor of Mexico. Evidence of the usage of the word dates back much earlier than the arrival of Europeans, so the word had to come from somewhere else. Another theory states that the origin came from the name of the wood used to make the guitars or platforms on which the musicians performed. The most recent theory, however, dates the word back to the early 1500’s to the Coca Indian word for a musician (Ruiz, 2002). Today, the term mariachi refers to the musicians who play traditional Mexican music on streets, at celebrations, and in cafes.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, a form of Mexican folk music called the corrido gained popularity along the Mexico-Texan border (Saldívar). Growing from the Spanish romance tradition, the corrido is a border ballad “that arose chronicling the history of border conflicts and its effects on Mexican-Mexican culture” (Saldívar). A sort of “oral folk history,” the corrido was studied intensely by Américo Paredes, who then constructed his masterpiece, George Washington Gomez, around the “context and theme” of the corrido (Mendoza 146). But the novel is not a traditional corrido, in which the legendary hero defends his people and dies for his honor. Instead, through its plot, characterization, and rhetorical devices, George Washington Gomez is an anti-corrido.
For me it all started out with Selena. I remember a boy in my middle school class dedicating me "Como La Flor" at one of our school dances in seventh grade. After that Tejano just sort of stuck in my head and all I ever thought of the song was that I had rejected that boy. Selena was quite a Tejana star at the time, and I was shocked with her murder two years later. She was a five star role model for Mexican-Americans to relate to and appreciate. Her songs live on in the Tejano world, as does her sprit and love for the music.
Mexico is known for many things that range from its beautiful beaches to its small unique towns to its food, but another aspect of Mexican culture that also stands out, is its many forms of music. When people think about music of Mexico, they typically think about mariachi or banda and the dances that are associated with the genres, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that there are other forms of music such as corridos and many types of sones. Since there are many genres in Mexican music, I will focus on corridos. Corridos have always been an important genre to Mexican music since they have always had an important message in them, although sometimes controversial and have also described the day-to-day lives of Mexicans.
Under Spanish rule, Puerto Rican music had been shaped by the prejudices of their oppressors and the divisions between the peasant class and the upper class elites. Many people argued over what was true Puerto Rican music and culture, and the more powerful members of Puerto Rican society controlled the music that represented the island. For this reason, under Spanish colonization, the occupying country recognized the most refined and European-sounding music, the danza. However, the music of the lower classes also served as a means to declare an identity separate from the Spaniards. In this way, Puerto Rican music at this time had the influence of both Europe and its own native culture. According to Glasser, "it is likely that in this way the vals, the mazurka, and other European dances penetrated much of the Puerto Rican countryside and were absorbed, with some modifications, into the jibaro repertoire. (Glasser 26)" In other words, the refined European style that was forced onto them by Spain and other types of music became part of Puerto Rican music, and part of their culture. Puerto Rican music and culture further developed when the United States ...
Music is a big part of Mexican culture, well any culture, music is like the key to the sole. It can open you up and play you like a fiddle. There are many different types of music out there, ranging from hip hop, to country, to jazz, to Latin, pop, indie, there are so many choices, and so many different places music comes from.
Music is essential to any culture. Its a vital part of being human and can significantly impact our lives. No matter where one is from, music is an escape that everyone seeks because they can relate to it. This social link keeps us tied to the world, even with different cultures and languages. Afro-Latinos have helped shape the music in America, many times with help from other cultures. Many types of music Hispanics have produced have impacted the United States. One of these types of music is named Bachata. Hispanics in the US have helped shape bachata, even though it originated in the Dominican Republic. With its profound lyrics many can relate to, its catchy rhythm and simple dance, bachata is as popular in the US as it is in Central America. In the 1980s and 1990s, the growing Dominican population in the United States became an important fan base for bachata. Dominican Yorks influence of traditional bachata with the artistic and cultural diversity of life in New York, making bachata one of the fastest growing music genres of the 21st century (Pacini Hernandez.)
World music may sound as simple as its name suggests, however the world music phenomenon expresses a deeper story that many people seem to miss. There is so much that makes up a world music genre, but what we hear about it is not always the easiest to decipher and generally comes from powerful and large organisations, where not all of it is explained thoroughly. A lot of their understanding comes from what they are only interested in and most important stories and factors are either ignored or incomplete (Stokes 2003, p. 297). Not receiving the full picture, gives us a limited understanding of world music and its sub genres. Different genres of music over the globe have been shaped in many ways by influences such as the; historical and traditional root, people and their culture, migration, globalisation, politics and commodification. Nueva Canción is one example of a world music genre that has been influenced in such ways, and of which has a strong historical and political story worthy to be recognised. This essay will focus on the way the genre, Nueva Canción has become a significant genre of world music, by exploring the influences stated previously.
The Latin American music scene is an amazingly diverse, engaging and entertaining music culture. Thomas (2011) explains, “…Latin American music has engaged in ongoing dialogue and cultural exchange that has profoundly affected music making in Europe and the United States and, more recently, in Africa and Asia as well”. This paper will be describing different aspects of the music culture from its musical features, to the historical aspect of this interesting music culture. Also, I will discuss a personal experience with Latin American music. After researching the music culture, I attended a concert performed by Boogat, an Emmy award nominated Latin American musician from Quebec who has toured all over North America. Latin American music culture