Outside of the Classroom Part 2

Welcome to my second edition of “Outside of the Classroom.” Like I said in my first edition, we have such a limited amount of time to talk about everything in class. We are having to prioritize the topics that the textbook speaks about causing us to push aside a lot of unknown information about these same regions. So today we will shift our focus to Latin/South American as well as Black America.

)Notorious for its rich coffee and emerald exportation, Colombia is not only known for its economical attributions but also for its musical attributions. The diverse geographical setting of Colombia allows for an influx of the styles of music that may be heard. The prominent genre of music that is heard highly across Latin/South America would be Cumbia, which if you couldn’t guess comes from Colombia. Cumbia itself is a blend of cultures, those being European, Indigenous and African influences. This concept is known as syncretism. I’ll briefly take you through the process of how it all came together. We’ll start off in San Basilio de Palenque, the first known “free town” for the African slaves who were brought upon during the time of the conquistadors. The syncopated “heartbeat” rhythm of Cumbia came from their traditional folk songs. This would be the concrete level of what makes Cumbia, Cumbia. We then move to the Indigenous aspect. Their input into the mix would be the instrumentation. Instruments like the gaita and tambora would be the most iconic instruments at the time when performing Cumbia. In modern Cumbia we see variations of these instruments to even electronic beats. Finally, the European’s, specifically the Spaniards, would be the ones to add the singing aspect. Now and days you hear different variations of Cumbia because each artist adds there own unique flair because it’s so versatile. Below I’ve embedded a Vox video that visually explains the information presented above. I’ve also embedded a musical example of what Cumbia may sound like. (Fun fact: Back in high school I was apart of a Latin Dance Team and this is one of the many songs we performed.)

We will now take a second and move up north to Mexico in which we will discuss Mariachi music. Before we speak about the genre of Mariachi, we need to understand what it even is. A mariachi group is a musical ensemble that is composed of a variety of string instruments. In a way, it is kinda like a chamber group only with more guitars and brass instead of just violins and violas. Very similar to Cumbia, Mariachi music is based upon the music of the indigenous people and Europeans. A mariachi ensemble will usually consist of a vihuela, a guitarrón (both of these instruments are a variation of the guitar), a guitar, and violins. It wasn’t until very recently in which we begin to see the trumpet being incorporated into the ensemble. Traditionally performers would wear “el traje de charro” or in other words the traditional wear of the cowboys from Jalisco. Now that you have a little bit of knowledge I’d like to now speak about Flor De Toloache, the first and only well-known female Mariachi group. Even though they had there upbringing in New York City, I still felt it was necessary to bring up. They received a Latin Grammy for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album back in 2015. This is so personal to me because I have grown up only hearing Mariachi music from a male artist so knowing that there is currently a female group makes me just feel good overall. The dynamic shifts a bit but that heart-clenching feeling is still there no matter who is singing. Below I’ve embedded two videos of them. The first video is a performance they did on NPR’S Tiny Desk Series. The second video is a more recent performance that they did for Tedx Talk.

So we have all heard of “Hound Dog” right? What’s the first thing you think about? If you said Elvis I’d like to let ya know that you’re not the only one. Many people have credit Elvis for this hit back in the 50s when in reality we should be giving the credit to Big Mama Thornton. First things first, her actual name is Willie Mae Thornton. She received the name “Big Mama” because of her robust voice and also her physical appearance. Sadly she was once of the many black artists at the time who faced racial discrimination and injustice in the music industry. The 12 bar blues “Hound Dog” topped the charts even with its noticeable sexual references. From what I gathered around two million copies were sold but she only received about $500. On the other hand, Elvis made a rendition of the song and received long-lasting fame and an abundance amount of money. Even after that, she continued producing music. Below I’ve attached the original version of “Hound Dog” but also another song that I enjoyed by her called “I Smell a Rat.”