Vallenato

Vallenato (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [baʝeˈnato]) is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in north-east Colombia. The name also applies to the people from the city where this genre originated: Valledupar (from the place named Valle de Upar – "Valley of Upar"). In 2006, vallenato and cumbia were added as a category in the Latin Grammy Awards. Colombia's traditional vallenato music is Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, according to UNESCO. ¹

This form of music originated from farmers who, keeping a tradition of Spanish minstrels (juglares in Spanish), used to travel through the region with their cattle in search of pastures or to sell them in cattle fairs. Because they traveled from town to town and the region lacked rapid communications, these farmers served as bearers of news for families living in other towns or villages. Their only form of entertainment during these trips was singing and playing guitars or indigenous gaita flutes, known as kuisis in the Kogi language, and their form of transmitting their news was by singing their messages. The first form of vallenato was played with gaita flutes, guacharaca, and caja, and later adopted other instruments like guitars. These troubadors were later influenced by Europe's instruments: piano and accordion. Impressed by the sound of the accordion, troubadors probably later obtained accordions from Aruba and Curaçao. Vallenato was considered music of the lower class and farmers, but gradually started penetrating through every social group during the mid-20th century. Don Clemente Quintero – a prominent member from the region's elite – was a lover of this music, usually accompanied by liquor, was a form of entertainment for this almost isolated region. He then decided to start a parranda (party) inside the very strict Valledupar Social Club with friends. This triggered an acceptance for the music and it became a regular feature at parties, carnivals and reunions, not for dancing, but for listening to these juglares stories . Alfonso López Michelsen, a prominent Colombian politician, showed interest in the region as his ancestors and wife were born there. ¹

Its three traditional instruments are: ¹

the caja vallenata: a small drum held between the knees and played with bare hands. It was used by the African slaves brought by the Europeans. Similar to a tambora drum. the guacharaca: a wooden, ribbed stick similar to a sugar cane, accompanied by a fork that when rubbed together emits a scraping sound. It's about 18 inches (45 centimeters) long and 1 inch (3 centimeters) in diameter. It was used by the aborigines to imitate the song of the guacharaca or guacharaco (one of the species of chachalaca), a bird from the region, to hunt and perform dancing rites. the accordion: three-line button, German-origin accordion. It has three reeds per note and comes in different keys: ADG, GCF, and BbEbAb ("5 Letras"). Accordions in Colombia and Panama sometimes have custom made keys especially made for vallenato and cumbia. ¹

Vallenato consists of four beats or "airs" that are differentiated through their rhythmic structure and the melody chord structure the accordionist gives it. These are son, paseo, merengue, and puya. The son and the paseo have a 24 time and the merengue and the puya a 68 time. ¹

Son is played with heavy accentuation and cadence stressed on the low notes of the accordion on its left-hand side. It is normally mournful and slow. Paseo is thought to be an offshoot of the son. Its speed can vary and today is the most widely recorded air. Puya's main difference from the merengue is the length of its lyrics. In the last 40 years, accordion players have begun to play it faster, and each of the three instruments used in vallenato has a solo. It is considered the oldest of the four "airs", with roots in an ancient Indian dance of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Merengue is often confused with a Dominican genre with the same name, probably brought by related African tribal groups. It has a more narrative style and was often used to play décimas, a 10-line format with internal rhymes brought by the Spanish in the 16th century. ¹

The piqueria vallenata is a type of typical musical showdown Colombian Caribbean folklore and Vallenato. As in the contrapunteo Joropo burrowing, or trova paisa within the music, litigants demonstrate their improvisational skills in building verses that challenge their opponent. This type of musical confrontation arose as a result of chance encounters between vallenatos minstrels who roamed the northern part of Colombia brightening binges and to demonstrate their talent on the accordion and the art of improvisation faced with songs and rhymes. One of the most important meetings of the Piqueria was between Emiliano Zuleta and Lorenzo Morales, both vallenato accordionists. From this meeting came the popular song "La Gota Fría" ("The Cold Drop" in English), played in its most popular version by Colombian singer Carlos Vives. ¹

Many vallenato festivals are held annually in Colombia, such as: ¹

The Vallenato Legend Festival: Every year by the end of April, in the city of Valledupar, the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata (Vallenato Legend Festival) is celebrated. During the festival a contest takes place in which the best vallenato interpreters fight for the title of Rey Vallenato (Vallenato accordion King), "verseadores", new song composers, "guacharaqueros" and "cajeros" are also awarded within three categories; professional, aficionado and infant. The festival also includes record industry's orchestras shows. Accordions' Cradle Festival: (Festival cuna de accordeones) This festival is celebrated every year since 1979, in Valledupar's neighboring town of Villanueva, in La Guajira. The Festival is similar to the Vallenato Legend Festival format, but also includes a category for the elderly accordion players over sixty years old. Other Vallenato festivals The Vallenato Festival in Bogotá, Colombia ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Vallenato”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Vallenato is musical tradition fusing cultural expressions of several origins in the Monteria Córdoba - Magdalena Grande area of Colombia – inscribed in the List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2015, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 15 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²