In review--Aye! Aye, Colombia! (Land of rapido music)
World
Son De Pueblo
Colombia (Traditional
Songs and Dances from)
Arc Music
I suppose if you’re going to celebrate the music of Colombia
you would want to travel to the South American country in December since
according to the liner notes for Traditional
Songs and Dances from Colombia performed by Son de Pueblo, “for several weeks
we celebrate the joy of life...” And that joy of life in Colombia includes
rousing Afro-Latin musical traditions from the plains, mountains, and the
Caribbean flavored with salsa, rumba, and musical genres from throughout Latin
America.
Anyone who only knows Colombia through tragic news stories
involving drug trafficking or from flavorful coffee beans, needs to delve into
traditional Colombian culture whether that is cuisine, traditional music or
folkloric dance because this is where you find happy and contented people
celebrating their regional offerings and culture heritage. The beauty of the Caribbean countries is the
way African, Indigenous and European poetry, rhythms, dances, and melodies come
together to create the first world music fusion (long before we even had this
genre).
For instance, the folkloric instruments featured in the band Son de
Pueblo hail from the Andes (quena, zampoña--flutes), charango (small mandolin
instrument with an armadillo shell back), from Mexico--State of Veracruz, (the
guitar-like requinto), percussion from both indigenous and African descent, and
piano, bass, and guitar from Europe.
As Venezuela includes a variety of lutes and drums in its
traditional songs, Colombia provides us with enticing regional polyrhythms,
speed, agility, grace, and swooping vocals.
In an interview with Marta Topferova for my upcoming book Whole Music, I asked the musician about
the fast-playing cuatro music from this region, and she chalked it off to an
effect from a coffee culture. However,
what I can say is that Colombian music doesn’t need any sugar because in its
natural form this music would even get a slug dancing the cumbia.
I feel exhausted just listening to the CD only because I
couldn’t help tapping my feet and drumming along on my computer or stopping to
clap my hands with the temptation to leave the review for later and just
dance. Ah, if only more cities played
this music on the streets, no one would have time to plan and scheme against
others. But I warn you that on this
particular recording you will only hear musicians play rapido and muy rapido. It will literally take your breath away.
The musicians offer us a variety of musical styles with the
cumbia, salsa, and rumba standing out as the most familiar genres in the
US. Since cumbia (one of the genres that
pours into salsa along with Puerto Rican bombo, plena and Cuban son) hails from
Colombia, we hear the raw, sizzling version here. Just listen to the delicious La Cumbia Cienaguera, Cumbia en el Arenal and Colombia Tierra Querida and you’ll
satisfy your musical hunger. Need some
interesting Afro-Latin polyrhythms? This band has you covered there too with
regional festival music where flutes mingle with indigenous and African
percussion. Some of the rhythms sway
while other rhythms knock you off your feet they’re so juicy.
I’ve enjoyed this recording from start to finish with my
fingers itching to press the replay button, but some highlights for me are Pájaro Campana with its quick tempo and
fluttery flute, the salsa version of Moliendo
Cafè, all the cumbias, the vocal harmonies over dense rhythms on El Canalete, Mi Varita and I feel like I’m
including every track on this list. I
need to learn more about Colombian music and I have barely scratched the
surface. But for anyone who enjoys folkloric
dance music, get this CD and listen to it often.
If you would like to learn more about traditional instruments, visit World Music Central and check out the site's glossary. http://worldmusiccentral.org
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