Music of Latin America

MUSIC OF
LATIN
AMERICA
Music of Latin America
The music of Latin America is the product

of three major influences – indigenous,
Spanish-Portuguese, and African. It is also
referred to as Latin music because of the
impact on the countries colonized by Spain
and Portugal, spanning the following areas:
Andean region(a mountain system of western
South America along the Pacific coast from
Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego)-Argentina,
Bolivia, Chile Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
Central America- Belize,Costa Rica,El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama
Caribbean- Cuba, Dominican Republic,
Guadaloupe, Haiti, Martinique, and Puerto Rico
Brazil
Five major ancestral groups as follows:
1. Indian descendants of the original native
inhabitants of the region before the arrival
of the colonizers.
2. African descendants from Western and
Central Africa
3. European descendants of colonizers mainly
from Spain and Portugal, but alsothose of
Frenc, Dutch, Italian, and British traders
4. Asian descendants of migrants
from China,Japan,India, and
Indonesia/Java
5. Mixed descendants from the above-
named groups
Influences on Latin American Music
• Indigenous Latin- American Music
 Before the arrival of the Spanish,Portuguese, and other European
Colonizers, the natives were found to be using local drum and
percussion instruments such as the guiro (open ended,hollow gourd
with the parallel notches cut in one side),Maracas( a gourd or a gourd
shaped rattle filled with seeds or pebbles and used,often in a pair,as a
rythm instrument),and turtle shells. Wind instrument like the
Zamponia (pan pipe) and quena (notched-end flute) were
traditionally made out of aquatic canes.
The indigenous music of Latin America was
largely functional in nature,being used for
religious worship and ceremonies. The use
of instruments as well as singing and
dancing, served to implore the gods for a
good harvest or victory in battle, to guard
against sickness and natural disasters, and
of course to provide recreation.
Afro-Latin American Music
The African influence on Latin

American music is most pronounced
in its rich and varied rhytmic
patterns was a favorite device ,
where fast-paced tempos add to the
rhythmic density.
Euro-Latin American Music
The different regions of Latin America adopted
various characteristics from their European
colonizers. Alternating dual meters,such as 6/8
and 4/4, known as “sesquialtera”
found in Chile and adopted in Cuba and Puerto Rico,
were immortalized in the song I wanna be in
America from Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway hit
West Side Story.
Mixed American Music
The diversity of races and cultures from the
Native Americans, Afro-Latin Americans, and
Euro-Latin Americans account for the rich
combinations of musical instruments. The
massive infusion of African culture also lead to
the introduction of other music and Dance
forms such as Afro-Cuban rumba,the Jamaican
reggae, the Columbian cumbia, and the
Brazilian samba.
Popular latin american music
Latin America has produced a musical genre and

forms that had been influenced by Euopean folk
music, African traditional music, and native
sources. Its danceable rhythms, passionate
melodies,and exotic harmonies continue to
enthrall music and dance enthusiasts worldwide.
Some of these Latin American popular music forms
are the tango,bossa nova, samba,son,and salsa.
 Samba
 is a lively, rhythmical dance of Afro-Brazilian origin in 2/4(2 by 4)
time danced to samba music whose origins include the Maxixe.
 4 female samba dancers are shown posing for a picture during the
2008 Rio Carnival.
 Samba dancers at Rio Carnival in 2008.
 Samba was created by African people in Brazil from the music and
dance culture they brought from Africa. Samba music is very similar to
and has been influenced by many Angolan music genres, as well as
many other Latin American music genres and dances. The term
"samba" originally referred to any of several Latin duet dances with
origins from the Congo and Angola.
Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that
originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during
the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that
blends elements of Spanish and African origin.
Among its fundamental Hispanic components are
the vocal style, lyrical metre and the primacy of
the tres, derived from the Spanish guitar. On the
other hand, its characteristic clave rhythm, call
and response structure and percussion section
(bongo, maracas, etc.) are all rooted in traditions
of Bantu origin.[1]
 Salsa music is a popular dance music genre that initially arose in
New York City during the 1960s. Salsa is the product of various
musical genres including the Afro-Cuban son montuno, guaracha,
cha cha chá, mambo, and to a certain extent bolero, and the
Puerto Rican bomba and plena. Latin jazz, which was also
developed in New York City, has had a significant influence on
salsa arrangers, piano guajeos, and instrumental soloists.[5][6]
 Salsa is primarily Cuban son, itself a fusion of Spanish canción
and guitar and Afro-Cuban percussion, merged with North
American music styles such as jazz. Salsa also occasionally
incorporates elements of rock, R&B, and funk.[7] All of these
non-Cuban elements are grafted onto the basic Cuban son
montuno template when performed within the context of
salsa.[8]
 A tlapitzalli is an aerophone known from pre-Columbian
Mesoamerican cultures, particularly the Aztec. It is a form of
flute,[1] made of ceramic, wood, clay, or bone.[2] They are most
often decorated with abstract designs or images of Aztec deities.
The tlapitzalli could be multi-chambered, examples using up to four
chambers are known. Tlapitzalli was also a term that was used to
refer to the conch shell trumpets used to coordinate attacks during
Aztec war ceremonies.
 Teponaztli. struck idiophone. The teponaztli is a percussion
instrument and more particularly a split drum. It was already
in use among the Aztecs and is still to be seen in certain areas
of Mexico. It consists of a hollowed-out tree trunk with an H-
shaped notch at the top.
 Conch (/kɒŋk, kɒntʃ/)[1] is a common name applied to a number of
different medium to large-sized shells. The term generally applies to large
snails whose shell has a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in
other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends).
 In North America, a conch is often identified as a queen conch, indigenous

to the waters of the Bahamas. Queen conchs are valued for seafood, and
are also used as fish bait.[2]
A rasp is coarse form of file used for coarsely shaping wood
or other material. Typically a hand tool, it consists of a
generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round
sectioned bar of case hardened steel with distinct,
individually cut teeth.
 Thehuēhuētl [ˈweːweːt͡ɬ] is a percussion instrument from
Mexico, used by the Aztecs and other cultures. It is an
upright tubular drum made from a wooden body opened at
the bottom that stands on three legs cut from its base,
with skin stretched over the top. It can be beaten by hand
or wood mallet.
Most of the flutes are single-pipe vertical flutes
with either whistle-type (e.g., the pincollos of
the Inca) or end-notched (e.g., the Andean
quena) mouthpieces. Whistles and ocarinas are
also found throughout Latin America

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How did indigenous music influence Latin American music?

What are some examples of indigenous Latin American instruments mentioned?

MUSIC OF

The music of Latin America is the product

The African influence on Latin

Latin America has produced a musical genre and

 In North America, a conch is often identified as a queen conch, indigenous

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