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Influences of Caribbean music in Guatemala. ...

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Influences of Caribbean Music in Guatemala Caribbean music has had a huge impact in Central American cultures. The influence of Caribbean music on Central America has led to the development of new styles of music, rhythms, and instruments. Some of these rhythms and instruments have become part of the culture of several countries in Central America. Guatemala is one of the countries that has adopted new styles of music and instruments because of the fusion of cultural elements from Africa. One of these instruments is the marimba and the genre of music is the Cumbia. The marimba was developed in Mesoamerica between 1492 and 1680, as a result of the merging of different cultural elements from Africa, Europe, and America (Castro). The name “marimba,” comes from Bantu, an African language, which means joining boards together to create sound (Castro). Europe contributed the musical system, which consists of a scale of twelve tones (Castro). The marimba is a percussion instrument and it is also an idiophone instrument because the vibration of the body of the instrument itself produces the sound (Bakan 66). There are three types of marimba: marimba of tecomate, the double marimba, and the simple marimba ("Tipos de marimba"). The marimba of tecomate is limited to three natural scales and is played by just one person. The double marimba is also called chromatic marimba and it consists of two keyboards that create the chromatic scales; it is played by seven people ("Tipos de marimba"). The simple marimba has a range of four to five natural scales ("Tipos de marimba"). There is a difference between the simple and the double marimba. On the double marimba all the scales can be played since it is similar to the piano and the simple marimba just some specific escales. “According to the historian Ricardo Castañeda Paganini, the first double or chromatic marimba was built in 1894 by the Quetzalteco Sebastián Hurtado at the

suggestion of the Guatemalan musician Julián Paniagua Martínez. One of the first double marimba concerts was held in the capital of Guatemala in 1899 on the occasion of the birthday of President Manuel Estrada Cabrera” (VillaGT). On August 31, 1999 the marimba became the national symbol of Guatemala as a representation of the cultural history of all Guatemalans (Castro). Many genres of music are played in marimba, however, the most famous is the cumbia. Besides the marimba other five instruments were developed in Guatemala, such as the chirimia, ayolt, chinchin, tunkul, and the ocarina (Cajal). These instruments were played by the Mayan culture for several popular festivities and religious celebrations. Some of these instruments were made by animal bones, wood, stones, and banbu (Cajal). Most of the instruments used by the Mayan culture were idiphone and aerophone (Cajal). The rhythm of cumbia was developed in Colombia through influences from different cultures like Africa and the Indians from Caribbean coast of Colombia (“El Origen”). The word, “cumbia,” comes from Cumbé, an African vocablo, which means “party,” thus cumbia became the mother of the Afro-caribbean rhythms (“El Origen”). In 1940, cumbia began to expand to Central American countries and it was well adopted by the people in Central America (Definición.de). In many Central American cultures, cumbia became popularly regarded as a joyous and dynamic dance music. You will often find cumbia being played at gatherings, parties and festivities because it produces a sound that relaxes and provides levity. Even though cumbia was not developed in Guatemala, Guatemala was one of the countries of Central America that adopted cumbia as part of the culture and it became very popular because of its contagious rhythm. This rhythm inspired many musicians in Guatemala to compose songs to be played with marimbas.

“Maricumbia” is one of the most famous songs in Guatemala; it was composed by Julio Anibal Delgado in 1987 (Castro). The name of the song comes from two words joined together, “Mari” comes from the name Maria, who was a friend of the composer and “cumbia” from the rhythm of cumbia adopted from Colombia (Castro). “Maricumbia consists of four parts and is considered a creation of mixed origin because the melody is Guatemalan and the rhythm, South American. ‘The popularity of this piece has allowed it to be performed by most of the marimba ensembles in Guatemala and has been recorded in other countries’" (Castro). Julio Anibal Delgado was born in Guatemala in 1924 (Castro). From a young age, Julio Anibal Delgado had a huge passion for music and later became a musician. His natural talent allowed him to learn different forms of music with ease. His speed for dictation and for writing music through simply hearing it let him to work as a musician in Chiapas, Mexico and Laredo, Texas (Castro). After Julio Anibal Delgado finished his rather long journey, he came back to Guatemala and became a teacher in public schools and private schools. Even though “Maricumbia” is one of the most known song in Guatemala, Julio Anibal Delgado composed many other songs, such as “La cumbia mora, Los melenudos, Taxisteca, Bomberos mazatecos, Siquinalá, El niño torero, Nos alumbra el mismo sol, y Nim Carchá” (Castro). Julio Anibal Delgado is considered one of the best Guatemalan composers. Another important composer was Guillermo de Leon Ruiz. He was born in 1946 and he has composed more 372 pieces of marimba (prensalibre). Guillermo de Leon Ruiz composed an important piece of marimba called “las chancletas de Nayo Capero” (prensalibre). This song is in cumbia rhythm; it was composed around 1980 (prensalibre). During the 80’s many important songs were composed that made popular Guatemalan music and gave life to the dance.

Caribbean music has helped develop part of the cultures in Central America. Influences of Caribbean music can be found in multiple cultures that add a tropical sound to foreign music, for example, including caribbean music with spanish music to create a new dance music in Central America. Guatemala is one of the countries in Central America influenced by Caribbean music, since the ideas of different African cultures helped to build part of Guatemalan culture. It is due to these various influences that so many different, yet unique, forms of music have shaped the cultures in Central America. Additionally, it was interesting to find out the origins of music that we hear throughout our daily lives. It gives us a glance at the various cultures and the stories that they tell through sound. The different rhythms, beats, and instruments capture the years of diversity within a culture. The adoption of these unique aspects have given birth to new forms of music that, like in Guatemala, have become incorporated as part of their culture creating a cohesive melangerie of sounds that compliment the ideals of the country. Overall, we get insight about the impact of carribean music in the conception of cumbia, instruments like the marimba and the artists, like Julio Anibal, who created a new musical interpretation for Central America.

Works Cited Bakan, Micheal. World Music: Traditions and Transformations. 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2012. Castro, Edwin. "Historia de la Marimba: Símbolo Patrio" ["History of the marimba: Patriotic symbol"]. Prensa Libre, 15 Sept. 2015, www.prensalibre.com/vida/escenario/la-marimbaes-instrumento-nacional-y-simbolo-patrio-de-guatemala/.

"Definición de Cumbia" ["Definition of cumbia"]. Definition.de, definicion.de/cumbia/. Cajal, Alberto. “Diez instrumentos musicales de Guatemala Autóctonos” [“Ten musical instruments of Guatemala Native”] lifeder, https://www.lifeder.com/instrumentos-musicales-guatemala/ "El Origen de la Cumbia, Esa Bella Música Colombiana" ["The origin of cambia, that beautiful Colombian music"]. Panorama Cultural, 12 Nov. 2012, www.panoramacultural.com.co/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=948:el-origen-de-la-cumbia-esa-bella-musicacolombiana&catid=. “Las chancletas de Nayo Capero, una pieza Historica” [“The slippers of Nayo Capero, a historical piece”] Prensa Libre, 10 Feb. 2016, https://www.prensalibre.com/vida/escenario/marimba-las-chancletas-de-nayo-capero/ "Tipos de marimba y sus partes" ["Types of marimbas and its components"]. deGuate.com, 9 Sept. 2014, www.deguate.com/artman/publish/cultura-musica-guatemala/tipos-demarimba-y-sus-partes.shtml.

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