Argentine cumbia
Encyclopedia
Argentine cumbia is an umbrella term that comprises several distinct trends within the same tradition: the dance
and music
style known as cumbia
in Argentina
.
Originally from Colombia
, Cumbia has been well-known and appreciated in Argentina for a long time, but it gained nationwide scope and attention when it became popular among the lower-class people in main urban centers, the large cities of the Río de la Plata
basin, in the 1990s.
Among the most important cumbia bands and singers that popularized the genre are Ráfaga
, La Nueva Luna, Amar Azul, Gilda
, and other traditional cumbia bands like Los Palmeras, Cali and Los Leales. Chocolate
had similar success across the water in Uruguay.
Most bands are composed of synthesizer
keyboards
as main instruments, electronic sounds
and percussion
, and a musical score very charged with vocal harmonies
, bell
s, and trumpet
s (usually electronically synthesized).
first found a place among the lower classes, who attended large dancing halls called bailantas, often to listen and watch live concerts by cumbia groups. Some bands, most notably Ráfaga
, chose a glamorous
style with theatrically presented messages about romantic love
and sensuality, hope and despair. Others took to more explicit themes, such as sex
, alcohol abuse
and the cumbia subculture
itself, often in a very light, irreverent style, sometimes intentionally humorous
.
The rhythm and themes of cumbia then spread to the whole of society, as its romantic and humorous manifestations were adopted to lighten up parties and other social events.
Around the beginning of the 2000s, probably influenced by the Argentine economic crisis, romantic cumbia drifted slowly away from the spotlight, while the rest of the bands slowly gave way to the much more aggressive cumbia villera
("shantytown cumbia") -with lyrics that explored the themes of crime and drug abuse-, which was from the start mostly restricted to the urban lower classes. The music influences of Cumbia Villera are Peruvian Cumbia and Cumbia Sonidera from Mexico.
Over 60 years of history, cumbia in Argentina was heavily influenced by other Argentinian folkloric kinds of music, like chamamé, guaracha, and cuarteto
. Cumbia songs tell stories about love and experiences of common people.
Cumbia in Argentina also has different styles depending on the country region, like norteña, santafesina, cordobesa, sonidera, and other more recent styles like cumbia-rap and cumbia villera.
In the present, cumbia bands play electric guitars, bass guitars, electronic percussion and synthesizers, all common instruments of rock bands, and there are also other instruments like bongos, trumpets, accordions, etc...
The clothing is also a very important characteristic of cumbia bands. Each bands has its own way of dressing, usually all members of the band wear the same special costume or exclusive clothes.
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
style known as cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
Originally from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Cumbia has been well-known and appreciated in Argentina for a long time, but it gained nationwide scope and attention when it became popular among the lower-class people in main urban centers, the large cities of the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
basin, in the 1990s.
Among the most important cumbia bands and singers that popularized the genre are Ráfaga
Ráfaga
Ráfaga is one of the most important bands within the Argentine cumbia. Formed in 1994, they started playing in Argentine cumbia clubs and quickly gained popularity....
, La Nueva Luna, Amar Azul, Gilda
Gilda (singer)
Gilda was an Argentine singer and songwriter....
, and other traditional cumbia bands like Los Palmeras, Cali and Los Leales. Chocolate
Chocolate (band)
Chocolate was a Uruguayan band from Montevideo, specializing in cumbia music. They released 3 studio albums, & at their peak, became a huge success in South America, even touring the USA in 2001...
had similar success across the water in Uruguay.
Most bands are composed of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
as main instruments, electronic sounds
Electronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
and percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, and a musical score very charged with vocal harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, bell
Bell (instrument)
A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
s, and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s (usually electronically synthesized).
History
In the 1990s, cumbiaCumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
first found a place among the lower classes, who attended large dancing halls called bailantas, often to listen and watch live concerts by cumbia groups. Some bands, most notably Ráfaga
Ráfaga
Ráfaga is one of the most important bands within the Argentine cumbia. Formed in 1994, they started playing in Argentine cumbia clubs and quickly gained popularity....
, chose a glamorous
Glamour (presentation)
Glamour originally was a magical-occult spell cast on somebody to make them believe that something or somebody was attractive. In the late 19th century terminology a non magical item used to help create a more attractive appearance gradually became 'a glamour'...
style with theatrically presented messages about romantic love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
and sensuality, hope and despair. Others took to more explicit themes, such as sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, alcohol abuse
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and the cumbia subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
itself, often in a very light, irreverent style, sometimes intentionally humorous
Humour
Humour or humor is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement...
.
The rhythm and themes of cumbia then spread to the whole of society, as its romantic and humorous manifestations were adopted to lighten up parties and other social events.
Around the beginning of the 2000s, probably influenced by the Argentine economic crisis, romantic cumbia drifted slowly away from the spotlight, while the rest of the bands slowly gave way to the much more aggressive cumbia villera
Cumbia villera
Cumbia villera is a typically Argentine form of cumbia music born in the villas miseria around Buenos Aires and then popularized in other large urban settlements, is derived musically from Cumbia sonidera and Chicha Cumbia.-Origins:Ever since the 1930s there has been a strong migration from the...
("shantytown cumbia") -with lyrics that explored the themes of crime and drug abuse-, which was from the start mostly restricted to the urban lower classes. The music influences of Cumbia Villera are Peruvian Cumbia and Cumbia Sonidera from Mexico.
Over 60 years of history, cumbia in Argentina was heavily influenced by other Argentinian folkloric kinds of music, like chamamé, guaracha, and cuarteto
Cuarteto
Cuarteto , sometimes called cuartetazo, is a musical genre born in Córdoba, Argentina.The roots of the cuarteto ensemble are in Italian and Spanish dance ensambles...
. Cumbia songs tell stories about love and experiences of common people.
Cumbia in Argentina also has different styles depending on the country region, like norteña, santafesina, cordobesa, sonidera, and other more recent styles like cumbia-rap and cumbia villera.
In the present, cumbia bands play electric guitars, bass guitars, electronic percussion and synthesizers, all common instruments of rock bands, and there are also other instruments like bongos, trumpets, accordions, etc...
The clothing is also a very important characteristic of cumbia bands. Each bands has its own way of dressing, usually all members of the band wear the same special costume or exclusive clothes.
See also
- Music of ArgentinaMusic of ArgentinaThe music of Argentina is known mostly for the tango, which developed in Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, as well as Montevideo, Uruguay. Folk, pop and classical music are also popular, and Argentine artists like Mercedes Sosa and Atahualpa Yupanqui contributed greatly to the development of the...
- Category:Cumbia music by nationality
- Cumbia villeraCumbia villeraCumbia villera is a typically Argentine form of cumbia music born in the villas miseria around Buenos Aires and then popularized in other large urban settlements, is derived musically from Cumbia sonidera and Chicha Cumbia.-Origins:Ever since the 1930s there has been a strong migration from the...