HISTORY OF VALLENATO

Vallenato is a musical genre indigenous to Colombia's Caribbean coast, with its epicenter in the former province of Padilla (present south of La Guajira, Cesar and north east of Magdalena) and a important variation in the savannah region in the departments of Bolivar, Sucre and Cordoba. His popularity has now spread to all regions of the country and neighboring countries like Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador. It is traditionally played with three instruments: the accordion, the guacharaca and caja (small drum goat leather). The rhythms and musical airs are the trip vallenato, merengue, puya, son and the tambora.

INSTRUMENTS:
The melodies of these songs were performed first with the flute or reed cane million, open at both ends with four holes in its length and a tongue that forms the entrance and step on a thread, sustained by the teeth, to modulate the sound, she joined the case, a kind of small drum made of handmade hollow tree trunk dry and sealed in one end with a piece of hardened leather, and guacharaca, ancient indigenous instrument that is manufactured using a piece of Canabrava to which you make small successive slots raspativo to produce a sound when rubbed with a bone (originally). In the late 1800s, decades after its invention, the accordion arrived in Colombia through the port of Riohacha, in the Guajira Peninsula in the hands of European sailors and pirates, and stayed here forever as a companion of such cowboys and farmers who unravel its secrets melodic and incorporated it into their musical expressions, and gradually came to replace the reed to become the main instrument of the typical set of vallenato music. In addition to these three instruments, cash, guacharaca and accordion, representing the tri-ethnic group that gave rise to race and culture of Colombia's Caribbean coast, the typical set vallenato today presents a fourth basic element which is the singer, more or less following a recent addition to the festival vallenato, since until the 60s of XX century the custom was for the accordion player and accordion player, take the lead and he interpreted the lyrics of the songs I played.


RHYTHMS

As of this kind leads to some variations, often also called vallenato to different rhythms and modern folk like using accordion. However, officially traditionally considered essential rhythms 5: The Ride, merengue, puya, son and tambora. These winds, however, have been influenced by African and Caribbean rhythms that existed previously.

• PASEO
  

Unlike all other air of this folklore, the ride has a quadrature vallenato rhythm of four beats. Low marking is one in three, and sometimes, according to the piece, from two to one. For interpreters air is easier to play. The pace picks up, spontaneous literary histories and stories of the people. The ride is originally designed to perpetuate through song the story of pre-Columbian peoples of the region, when Chimilas, Wayuu, Toupees and other inhabitants of the old Magdalena composed these songs to replace the nonexistent script, as did all the nations primitive and illiterate in the world. Despite its age - which places him in a position of privilege against the other arising from the mixing air - the word walk is in the air vallenato, the newest among the five traditional rhythms that name, to the point of no have more than 80 years since its popularization.

• MERENGUE
  

The origin of the word meringue goes back to colonial times and comes from the word muserengue, name of an African cultures brought from the coast of Guinea, arrived in the Colombian Caribbean Coast, making a great contribution to musical development and cultural development. The traditional vallenato merengue, has a square of six by eight compass, a compass derived, since the originals are four times, three and two, being, well, the air more and more complex and original among the four traditional airs. The meringue is unlike the other air in the interpretation and marking of three for one low one and sometimes three, according to the specific structure of the melody, although it can be faster.

• PUYA

As Valledupar and other peoples of the ancient department of Magdalena large, the oldest pace was called Puya. Its name derives from the verb poke, poke synonymous, and has a typical six-eight compass. This rhythm, in its native form, never had singing and imitation was made by the reed warbler-Piter or saddler - in rapid pace, the song of birds, are dancing in rows, each person bringing both hands closed the chest with fingers pointing forward and pretending to be repeatedly puyaba who was dancing on. Subsequently, over time, they were merging the various tri-ethnic elements typical of coastal and riverine Colombian culture, achieving join the puya Negroid, gender sung to the puya indigenous, occurring as a result puya vallenato with your current balance singing, melody and rhythm. Puya and merengue in their rhythmic and harmonic pattern are equal. The difference is marked in its melodic design: rhythm, music and of course on the interpretation given to, characteristic of each piece. Thus, the puya has a bearing on the lower two by two and sometimes two to one in certain passages of interpretation, but not all the pieces. The print speed is not a difference, because the performer touches to your liking.

• SON

The word comes from the Latin are Sonus, meaning art produced nice sound. For its own meaning this term has been always linked to music. El Son vallenato itself, has a square of two-four beat, and singing is a mulatto ancestor without being free of Indian influence, as this is not possible in music where all the native structure of this line is. A key feature in the implementation of this air is the prominent use of the underside of the accordion in the interpretation of each piece, while the low may be more noticeable than the same melody issued by the keyboard, mainly in the accordion players of the younger generation . The Son has a dial in the lower one by one very strong, especially in savanna or influential interpreters bottom sheet - old Bolívar -, and unlike the accordion players of the province, those who interpret are more fluid, less marked, more subtle and give a score of under one per two and two for one, sometimes.
As the Passeig, Sones are a kind of chronic singular narrative where the singer leaves reflected the events of his existence, particularly in this species are represented nostalgic dramas that have constituted an important part in the life of the author.

• TAMBORA

The drum is the rate higher purity in form and content that is disappearing today. Took female name because of the predominance of women's voices when these winds were just sung. Even though their texts are similar to the old Dominican merengue, you can not say that that is its source. Perhaps this similarity is due to the same ethnic origin and common pattern. Some are politemáticas, in which each verse expresses a different circumstance than the other, but there is one constant. Some have the particularity of the unchangeable fixed verse insert every two verses, and others maintain the unity of writing a theme, but regardless of consistency and harmony in poetic phrases. In general, all have provided satirical, successful in highlighting the lack of coordination more contrast. There are still some purely instrumental, performed only with drums. Hence his designación. Examples of drums: "La Candela Viva" (Alejandro Duran), "My friend fell down," "The bitch". It is good to note here that the traditional drums, is forming tri-ethnic (black, white, Indian) and its geographical environment is centered along the 'Rio Grande de la Magdalena in the sub region called depression and that people Momposina Department Cesar that have always been La Tambora and cultural identity are among others: Tamalameque, La Gloria, Gamarra, Chimichagua, Chiriguana, El Paso. It is good to note here: The traditional drum instruments are: The Tambora bimembranófono instrument that runs with two mambacos "or sticks. The currulao and gouache, accompanied by clapping. At this rate a voice created rhymes (the singer or singer) and a chorus of voices responded a chorus, as it is a Responsorial singing. The traditional drum consists of four air: La Tambora drum, Guacherna, the Chandos and Berroche Examples: Tambora Tambora, the fire alive, the dog. Guacherna: The Saragossa. Chanda: Vamos a Bailar Chand. Berroche, The Black. In the municipality of Tamalameque takes place in December The National Festival and Guacherna Tambora, which brings together the best examples of the folklore of resistance.

CURRENTS :

Vallenato traditional folk eminently, vallenato is executed at festivals such as Vallenato Legend Festival or the Cradle of Accordions. It includes all the traditional rhythms, puya, Paseo, tambora, son and merengue. Their subject matter includes facts of daily life, friendship, partying, land and women. It's music that was cultivated by the troubadours as Alejandro Duran, Abel Antonio Villa, Luis Enrique Martinez, "Pacho" Rada, "Colacho" Mendoza, Rafael Escalona, among others. Vallenato music is one of the first waves vallenatas, known as "cassava" into the 80s. He began listening to commercial stations in the early 70s. Its main representatives are Jorge Oñate, Los Hermanos Zuleta Diomedes Diaz, Binomio de Oro, Los Betos and Ivan Villazon, among others. Dominates the ride and to a lesser extent, the merengue. It is considered the cause of the decline of the puya and son.

Vallenato New ola in the early years of this millennium has been a growing trend within the vallenato music proposed modernization [citation needed], but returning to the fundamental principles that had the romantic vallenato genre before [citation needed] this is where we have seen the classic combination of letters vallenatas (singing to the woman, to love, to the party) combined with electronic music, reggae and other external rhythms. Its main representatives have been Silvestre Dangond, Peter Manjarrez, Kaleth Morales, Luis Fernando "Luifer" Cuello, Felipe "Pipe" Pelaez, and there are new figures trying venture into the genre, but perhaps because of the loss is already beginning to see , mix it with other more traditional genres, but are also trying to create their own alternatives, among them may be appointed Kvrass, Churo Diaz, among others.

Important Festivals

The music festival vallenato Colombia's most important is the Vallenato Legend Festival, held since 1968 in the city of Valledupar. The first festival was won by Alejandro Duran, whom he beat in the platform "Francisco the Man," the legendary Emiliano Zuleta. He also caused the Cradle of Accordions Festival [15] Villanueva, Guajira, population source of accordion players. The Cradle of Accordions Festival was appointed Artistic and Cultural Patrimony of Colombia by Congress through Act 1052 of 2006.


MUSICIANS.

True troubadours vallenatos lost between history and legend. Among them are from the legendary figure of Francisco el Hombre, through Pitre Luis, Emiliano Zuleta, Guillermo Buitrago, Lorenzo Morales, Leandro Diaz, Luis Enrique Martínez, Enrique Tobias Pumarejo, Abel Antonio Villa, Rafael Escalona and has been the largest vallenato folk icon, the first King Vallenato Alejandro Duran. Many of them died in poverty despite their chants could be heard throughout Latin America and giving countenance to vallenato long before becoming a sales phenomenon. Although there vallenato composers and performers of traditional ( "authentic") very popular in Colombia, the maximum "ambassador" of this music is now samarium singer Carlos Vives, who has made known through a variant might be called vallenato-pop. Today is a distinction between the traditional or authentic vallenato vallenato vallenato romantic or business, which has highlighted singers like Jorge Celedon and Ivan Villazon and groups like the Binomio de Oro de America. Other performers such as Diomedes Diaz vallenato got the win popularity among Colombians without social or cultural distinction.