HISPANIC MUSIC FOR BEGINNERS PETER KOLAR, World Library Publications

Terminology Spanish vs. Hispanic; Latino, Latin-American, Spanish-speaking (El) español, (los) españoles, hispanos, latinos, latinoamericanos, habla-español, habla-hispana Hispanic culture • A melding of Spanish culture (from Spain) with that of the native Indian (maya, inca, aztec) Religion and faith • popular religiosity: día de los muertos (day of the dead), santería, being a guadalupano/a • “faith” as expession of nationalistic and cultural pride in addition to spirituality Diversity within Hispanic cultures Many regional, national, and cultural differences • Mexican (Southern, central, Northern, Eastern coastal) • Central America and South America — influence of Spanish, Portuguese • Caribbean — influence of African, Spanish, and indigenous cultures • Foods — as varied as the cultures and regions Spanish Language Basics • a, e, i, o, u — all pure vowels (pronounced ah, aey, ee, oh, oo) • single “r” vs. rolled “rr” (single r is pronouced like a d; double r = rolled) • “g” as “h” except before “u” • “v” pronounced as “b” (b like “burro” and v like “victor”) • “ll” and “y” as “j” (e.g. “yo” = “jo”) • the silent “h” • Elisions (spoken and sung) of vowels (e.g. Gloria a Dios, Padre Nuestro que estás, mi hijo) • Dipthongs pronounced as single syllables (e.g. Dios, Diego, comunión, eucaristía, tienda) • ch, ll, and rr considered one letter • Assigned gender to each noun • Stress: on first syllable in 2-syllable words (except if ending in “r,” “l,” or “d”) • Stress: on penultimate syllable in 3 or more syllables (except if ending in “r,” “l,” or “d”) Any word which doesn’t follow these stress rules carries an accent mark — é, á, í, ó, étc. Dialects

In English there exists regional dialects (i.e. British, East Coast, Southern, Midwest), the same holds true for Spanish: • Castellano (Spanish of Spain) – notably “z” as “th” e.g. corazón pronouced cora-thón

• Latin-American: Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Argentinian, etc. • Spanish has its own slang, both common and street • Influence of “Spanglish” especially in borderland areas, urban entry points for immigrants, southwest

Musical styles (based on regions)

• Northern Mexico and Tejano: known for norteña, polka, ranchera, banda

• Caribbean and coastal: known for bolero tropical, salsa, afro-cubano, merengue, cumbia, mambo, cha-cha, guajira, rhumba, samba, son cubano, son montuno, bassa nova, nueva trova, bomba, plena, trio

• Eastern Mexico: known for its danzas (dances) — huasteco, huapango, indígena

• Central Mexico: known for mariachi (which is really a type of ensemble not a style) — bolero romántico, bolero ranchero, carnavalito, vals ranchero, polca, son jaliciense

• Central America: known for its marimba

• South America: known for andino, tango, vallenato

• Miscellaneous: trio, “rock” en español Melodies of Latin-america

• 2-voice texture (a simple “auto-harmony” in which a “segunda voz” is added above or below) • trio (3-voice auto-harmony) • harmony is often very basic in support of beautiful melodies Musical Instruments of Latin-America Guitars: vihuela, cuatro, requinto, charango, guitarrón, bass guitar Trumpet Violin Marimba Accordion Saxophone and clarinet other Brass – trombone, tuba (“banda”) Percussion: congas, bongos, maracas, shaker, güiro, cabasa, cowbell, clave, tambourine Piano Synthesized keyboard Organ Harp

Liturgical Application

• Familiarize yourself with the styles and expressions appropriate to the community • Know the ensembles you have to work with (both in terms of instrumentation and people) • Getting Hispanic musicians to read music and Anglo readers to improvise/play by ear • Know when (or when not) to use bilingual music

• Use available musical resources: hymnals, song collections, recordings, octavos, the internet • Resources on liturgy, music planning (AIM, Liturgia y Canción) • Indexes from Accompaniment books

• Missalettes® and other worship aids

Handout prepared by Peter Kolar, WLP