grade 10

1. Music of Latin America
A cultural legacy

2. Three Major Influences
 Native (indigenous) peoples
 Europeans
– Mostly from Spain and Portugal
– Others around the Caribbean
 African
– Through slaves imported against their will
– Areas close to Caribbean and the East
Coast of Brazil

3. Indigenous Influences
 Aztec
– Mexico
– Wooden Drums, Flutes and all types of
percussion instruments
 Maya
– Central American lowlands
– Long wooden trumpets and human bones
 Inca
– Andes Mountains
– Bamboo flutes and panpipes
 Many of these instruments still found in Latin
American Music
– Ex.: flutes, ocarinas

4. Indigenous Instruments

5. Ecuador
“Corazas”
 By Inkhay
– Ancient Ecuadorian
rhythm called
yumbo
– Played on
pentatonic panpipes
 Called payas
 Response:
1. Does this song
sound native or
influenced by
music from
Europe? Explain:
2. What does the
drumbeat remind
you of?

6. Innovations from Europe
 Stringed instruments
– Harps, guitars, etc.
– Hybrids
 Charango
– Made like a guitar with a sound box made from an
Armadillo’s shell
 Harmony
– Singing or playing more than one note to form
chords
 Genres
– Mariachi-arrived from Spain, but is identified
world-wide as a typical Mexican style
– Tango-influenced by Gaucho (Argentinean
Cowboy) music from the Pampas.

7. European Influences

8. Peru
“Adiós Pueblo de
Ayacucho”
 By Inkhay
 A well known song from
Peru
 Includes harp, quena flutes,
charango,and guitar
 Response:
1. Do you think the
harp was
developed in Peru
or brought to South
America from
Spain?
2. Are there one or
two flutes playing
in this song? What
makes you think
so?

9. Brazil
“Puxa Vida”
 By Tico da Costa
 This song is about all
the things a husband
does for his wife even
though he doesn’t want
to:
– Shopping
– Washing the dishes
– Cleaning the house…
 …just because he
loves her.
 Response:
– What are some of
the words that
describe the mood
of this music?

10. African Influences
 Instruments
– Marimba-descended
from the balafon
– Variety of percussion
instruments
 Ex.: Shékeres,
pandaretas, steel pans,
batas
 Syncopation
– Complex rhythms
– Hitting the “beats
between the beats”
 Call and response
– Chorus answers the
lead
 Improvisation
 Genres
– Rumba, salsa,
mambo, merengue,
son, calypso, soca,
reggae, capoeira,
Bossa Nova

11. Instruments from Africa

12. Mexico
“El Butaquito”
 By Los Pregoneros
del Puerto-Veracruz
– Original version of
“El Cielito Lindo”
 Response:
1. Does this song
contain a call-and-
response vocal
form? Explain:
2. When the harpist
plays solo, do you
think it is a
planned-out
melody, or do you
think the musician
is improvising on
the spot? Explain:

13. Puerto Rico
“Morena Monta en mi
Guagua”
 By Los Pleneros de
21
– Folk song
– About a kid who invites
a dark-haired girl to ride
in his car
– Strong African and
Spanish influences
 Response:
1. In the introduction
to this song, which
instruments do you
think are African in
origin and which
one is Spanish?
2. The vocal style is
called “call-and-
response.”
Describe in your
own words.

14. Cuba
“Pa’ lo Latino”
 By Tony Martinez &
the Cuban Power
– Based on Cuban
son (a traditional
form)
– Lots of brass and
percussion
– Latin Jazz flavor
 Response:
1. Name all the
instruments you
hear in this piece.
2. If you tap your feet
or move your head
to the rhythm, do
you notice anything
unusual when the
horns come in?