A Brief Guide to South American Folk (Pt. 1)
Cumbia, reggaeton, salsa… There’s no doubt you’ve heard these terms invariably crop up in any discussion of Latin/South American music.
However, stopping here only scratches the surface of South American musical culture. For example, how about the haunting high-pitched songs of the Inca empire? The folk songs enjoyed by the gauchos in Argentina? Or the festival in Bolivia where locals settle their dues with a fist fight?
A quick disclaimer: it would of course be impossible to cover the vast spectrum of South American music in a few blog articles. In this guide, I hope to offer you a brief taster of South American musical traditions past and present, and a selection of my favourite music from the slopes of the world’s longest mountain range – the Andes.
We start in Ecuador and Colombia, where whirling courtship dances meet sorcerers’ purification rituals (playlist is at the end).
Yumbo
The Yumbo are a pre-Inca people native to the Nanegalito area, northwest of Quito. ‘Yumbo’ also translates to ‘witch’ in Quechua and is the name of the main character of this folk dance. The Yumbo dresses in white, paints his face with various colours, and adorns his head with feathers. The music is characterised by a lively 6/8 ‘heartbeat’ rhythm and is performed as part of a purification ritual on important astronomical dates such as the solstices and equinoxes.
Start here: Jhony Garcia Coque (musician and researcher specialising in indigenous music — start with Yumbo), Arturo Aguirre (Andean panpipe maestro — listen to his recording of Los Corazos, a traditional yumbo).
Sanjuanito
The Sanjuanito (also spelt as two words) is a joyous, celebratory music native to the Andean region of Ecuador. It is characterised by upbeat, danceable rhythms and melancholy lyrics, a juxtaposition which creates a bittersweet feel. Composed in 2/4 time, it is performed on the rondador (Andean panpipe), pingullo (flute), bandolín, mandolin, rondín (harmonica), and bombo drum. The Sanjuanito is usually performed at the June solstice – the festival of San Juan, or Inti Raymi for the Incas. (A side note: while it would be easy to jump to a conclusion about the etymological origin of the Sanjuanito and link it to San Juan, the music actually dates from the pre-Inca era, and the jury is out on its origins, with some musicologists suggesting it comes from the Peruvian dance Huayno, which sounds similar.)
Start here: Ñanda Mañachi (his track Ñuca Llacta was described by one writer as the unofficial ‘second national anthem of Ecuador’), Inka Gold, Trio Fronterizo and Olmedo Torres.
Bambuco
Colombia is home to a rich mélange of music thanks to its multinational population. There is no better example of this cross-cultural sound than the bambuco, whose musical roots span African, Spanish, and indigenous cultures. It was first recorded in the 18th and 19th centuries in the valleys of the Cauca and Magdalena. Similar to the European waltz, the bambuco has a 6/8 or 3/4 time signature. It’s performed on the tiple (a small guitar), the requinto (also a small guitar), the bandola (a type of mandolin), and the flute. The lyrics centre around love, the countryside, and nostalgia.
Start here: Garzón y Collazos (the legendary Colombian duo known for their renditions of popular bambucos and other traditional songs).
Torbellino
In Spanish, ‘un torbellino’ translates to ‘whirlwind’. The Colombian folk music and dance of the same name is characterised by whirling, repetitive melodies, and the harmonies revolve around the tonic (chord I), subdominant (chord IV), and dominant (chord V), then back to the tonic again. The music is fast-paced and energetic, and the dancers step quickly and circle each other. The torbellino is usually performed on the requinto (a small nylon-stringed guitar), the tiple (a small 10–12-stringed guitar), the guacharaca (percussion), zambumbia (drum), and carraca (ratchet).
Start here: Jorge Ariza (the famous requinto player recorded a number of traditional torbellinos in his lifetime), Hermanos Martínez (Torbellino No. 2).
Harawi
The harawi (arawi) is one of the oldest known genres of indigenous Andean music. It was widespread across the Inca Empire, specifically in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and was performed at rituals. Typically, the harawi is performed by women (known as harawiq), with high-pitched vocals accompanied by the quena (flute). It is soulful and slow, and the lyrics centre on unrequited love, death, and the struggles of peasant life. The foundation of many Andean music genres, it later evolved into the Colombian yaraví, and the Ecuadorian pasillo also draws on harawi rhythms.
Start here: Luzmila Carpio (listen to Arawi for an example of this haunting high-pitched vocal style) and Yma Sumac (an extraordinary vocalist, who claimed to be descended from the last Inca king and whose vocal range spanned five octaves).
Sources and Further Reading
Música Tradicional Ecuatoriana
La Danza Del Yumbo En La Comunidad De Rumicocho (Eduardo Almeida Reyes, 2011)
El San Juanito como ritmo nacional del Ecuador (Carlos Delgado, 2011)
Andean Colombian Music (ACMus, ongoing)
