The cultural artifact that I have chosen is regional Mexican music. Mexico has a musical history that is full of cultural contrasts, with many different musical styles and influences. Today, music is essential to the way Mexicans live; music is everywhere. The regional Mexican music comes from a whole variety of genres and performances styles. Whether for a big or small celebration, its significance is of love, passion, history, and legend, among other things. According to Billboard, Banda, nortena, and ranchera-rooted music is now the: "fastest-growing segment of the U.S. Latin-record business." Suddenly, and belatedly it seems, regional Mexican sounds, which are rooted in such rural, locally-based rhythms as nortena, ranchera and banda, have become the major record labels in Mexico and the U.S. Forever ignored by the U.S. major labels, regional Mexican artists and deals are now being scooped up by the big multi- national record companies on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. (Lannert)
Music is like food; it is part of everyday life. As I said before, there are a mix of both traditional and modern genres. The most popular genre as we hear today is banda or band. It usually consists between 10 and
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We are reunited by hosting parties at the house by bringing food and live music and inviting people to come over and celebrate and feeling comfortable in our homes. As I said before, I feel lucky that I was invited, I’m glad my godparent’s son was his idea to bring back the Mexican roots. There are some people like me, that are really a big fan of regional Mexican music, while other people don’t like it, people with different race don’t listen to regional Mexican music. I am not ashamed of where I came from. As you know have a basic understanding of how it is important in most celebrations, this identifies me as being part of my Mexican roots. I hope this helps to other people identifying their
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, a form of Mexican folk music called the corrido gained popularity along the Mexico-Texan border (Saldívar). Growing from the Spanish romance tradition, the corrido is a border ballad “that arose chronicling the history of border conflicts and its effects on Mexican-Mexican culture” (Saldívar). A sort of “oral folk history,” the corrido was studied intensely by Américo Paredes, who then constructed his masterpiece, George Washington Gomez, around the “context and theme” of the corrido (Mendoza 146). But the novel is not a traditional corrido, in which the legendary hero defends his people and dies for his honor. Instead, through its plot, characterization, and rhetorical devices, George Washington Gomez is an anti-corrido.
Since before I was born, my Hispanic heritage played a huge role in who I am and what I have achieved. My great-grandfather immigrated to this country with the desire to provide his family with a better future than his own. My grandpa grew up in Texas on the boarder of Mexico and traveled to Blue Island, Illinois as migrant crop worker. This desire passed down by my grandparents and my great-grandparents has played a tremendous role in propelling me to where I am today. Each generation sought to make the the lives of their children better than their own. My grandma received the opportunity to live in the country of opportunity from her father, and my grandpa paid for my mom to get an education. My mother pushed me to do my best in school and
The problem that many Mexican Americans go through is that some of us do not know what nationality we belong to. For me, the problem with my sense of identity regarding nationality or group began in middle school particularly in the 8th grade. There is a saying among many Mexican Americans in the United States, no soy de aquí ni de alla, meaning I am not from here, or from there. This means that most Mexican Americans are stuck in the middle of both cultures. Per White Americans we are not American enough because we are able to speak another language and have different customs. Now, to some Mexican
Music, in the history of Puerto Rico, has played a role of great significance as a means of cultural expression. The five centuries of musical activity shows that Puerto Ricans have created, developed and promoted a variety of genres ranging from folk music, concert music and new genres. The Puerto Rican music and native musicians have shaped and enriched the identity of the Puerto Rican people and their roots.
A type of “transplanted musical traditions” that has been brought to the United States that is from Mexico that I know of is called “Jarabe Tapatio” or also known as the “Mexican Hat Dance.” This type of music and dance is performed by Mariachi and is a tradition that has been preserved by Mexican migrants who have migrated to the United States. The “Jarabe Tapatio” or “Mexican Hat Dance” is known for dancing around the guy’s hat known as “Sombrero.” This dance has been kept in the Hispanic culture and transplanted by doing celebrations on dates that are significant to Mexican migrants.
“Another key element in the birth of Tejano was the exposure of young Mexican-American boys and girls to rock and roll” (Patoski 14). Teenagers during this time enjoyed listening to artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, etc. Artists took the catchy, upbeat tune of rock and roll and added a cultural twist to it. This was sometimes referred to as música alegre- joyous, exuberant music, which matched Selena’s personality. So, in a way, Tejano music is like Mexican rock and roll. Since this time period was the late 80s/early 90s, teens could only listen to music on the radio or on portable Walkman devices, though the radio was more easily accessible. “What is unique about Selena’s era of Tejano music is that it became commertionalized as a recording genre, through music awards and a boom in radio stations that were specifically named “Tejano”” (Vargas 183). This is the positive effect of radio music: it allows for a widespread audience and allows music to gain popularity much faster. “Perhaps the most inhibiting factor to the development of a regional sound was radio, the most important form of mass communication in Texas Spanish-speaking communities” (Patoski 16). Radio did not allow for music to be separated by regions. Therefore, Tejano music could not be exclusively for
Music has always been a pervasive symbol of identity. It is a mode of expression that crosses gender, ethnicity and age. One need not understand the lyrics to identify with a musical genre; identification can be found through rhythm, tone of music, as well as other techniques in the music, unrelated to words. For example, most operas are in Italian and obviously everyone that attends an opera, does not speak or understand Italian. However, the audience is moved by the emotion conveyed through tone, facial expressions, and beat of the music. I believe this is relevant to the situation of Puerto Rican forms of music, and its success when Puerto Rican musicians migrated to the United States. Original forms had to be adopted to become popular in the United States, often assuming a heavier dance beat, but when the songs and musicians did become popular, it was not because a majority of Americans understood the lyrics in Spanish. For Americans, it was because the music provided lively background entertainment. However, for the Puerto Ricans, it meant much more. The music symbolized their background and struggles, what it means to be Puerto Rican.
YES! Even before the Beatles! of course gringo baby boomers would probably think of stars such as Ritchie Valens, Chris Montez, The Champs, that is unless they were in southern California and flocking to Tijuana’s Mike’s Bar where bands like The Tijuana Five, Dug Dugs, Peace & Love or El Ritual where packing them in, standing room only, or the Convoy club where the great Carlos Santana got his foot in the door by playing bass with Javier Batiz, “Liverpool Cavern club style” ... we are talking about Mexico becoming the second country in the world where Rock and Roll was played and created.
To help me understand and analyze a different culture, I watched the film Selena. The film tells the life story of the famous singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Not only does it just tell personal stories from her life, it also gives insight to the Mexican-American culture. Her whole life she lived in the United States, specifically in Texas, but was Hispanic and because of that both her and her family faced more struggles than white singers on the climb to her success. Even though the film is a story about a specific person, it brought understanding into the culture in which she lived. Keeping in mind that these ideas that I drew about the Mexican-American culture is very broad and do not apply to every single person in the culture, there were very obvious differences in their culture and the one that I belong. Mexican-American culture identifies with their family rather than individualized or spiritual identities and the culture has gone through significant changes because of discrimination and the changing demographics of the United States.
Music is essential to any culture. Its a vital part of being human and can significantly impact our lives. No matter where one is from, music is an escape that everyone seeks because they can relate to it. This social link keeps us tied to the world, even with different cultures and languages. Afro-Latinos have helped shape the music in America, many times with help from other cultures. Many types of music Hispanics have produced have impacted the United States. One of these types of music is named Bachata. Hispanics in the US have helped shape bachata, even though it originated in the Dominican Republic. With its profound lyrics many can relate to, its catchy rhythm and simple dance, bachata is as popular in the US as it is in Central America. In the 1980s and 1990s, the growing Dominican population in the United States became an important fan base for bachata. Dominican Yorks influence of traditional bachata with the artistic and cultural diversity of life in New York, making bachata one of the fastest growing music genres of the 21st century (Pacini Hernandez.)
Two countries have been separated by walls and rivers for decades now. Theses wall and rivers are the border between Mexico and the United States of America. Forty feet is the difference between two cultures that can never be called the same. The etiquette, government, and house hold families are little of what make these countries so different.
many cultures view as an important part in their way of life. Music ranges from strictly
Throughout the semester, various styles of music and the aspects of culture associated with these styles have been analyzed. Musical elements such as dynamics, texture, form, timbre, melody, instruments, etc., have been used to thoroughly explore each kind of music from different areas of the world, with an emphasis in music from Africa, India and Indonesia. These aspects of music go far beyond just music itself. Culture also plays a huge role in music and the accompanying musical elements. Each country and culture has a different style and distinctiveness that add to what makes the music of that certain culture unique. Music in Africa may differ dramatically from music in Indonesia or India not only due to those certain elements but also due to how it is interpreted by people and what it represents for those people. In addition to this, what one may consider music in one culture may not be music to another. These differences have been made apparent in the several demonstrations that we have been exposed to in class.
According to his review of A Guide to Latin American Music by Gilbert Chase, Charles Seeger describes Chase’s description of the music culture, “The quantitative distribution of more than 2700 entries, which include some multiple listing, is interesting” (Seeger, 1946, 304). Chase explains a plethora of countries in Latin America and their specific musical features. Furthermore, thanks to his detailed work, the reader can see how many common features can be seen. Firstly, a common feature among all genres is the use of aerophones. The aerophones used could include, panpipes of various varieties, flutes, trumpets (as seen at the Boogat performance in Ottawa) and many more. Another common feature among all the genres is a strong rhythmic presence. In essentially all Latin American music, a steady, metrical rhythmic quality can be heard keeping the music energetic and easy to follow. To keep the rhythm, another common feature to Latin American culture is the drum. Most commonly found in the Afro-Latin genre, as a result of influence from African culture, can be seen throughout Latin America. A popularized western form of this type of music, is that of mariachi. Finally, Latin American culture is known for its vibrancy in their music. The music is generally quite expressive of feelings, strong moral messages found in protest songs, and their colorful, elaborate
In the Chinese culture, music is usually traditional. There are instruments made of many materials, usually stone and wood, in addition to silk, bamboo, clay, and many other materials. The purpose of music in Chinese culture is not to amuse but cleanse one?s thoughts. In American culture, music has many genres, such as rock, pop, and rap. Common instruments include guitar, bass guitar, and drums. There are many others in different categories of bands, such as in a marching band there are different instruments. These may include trumpet, cornet, clarinet, flute, and the instruments listed above as well. In African culture, the most common music is spiritual or gospel. Some other musical genres in African music is hip-hop, rap, jazz, or funk. Piano is a common instrument in gospel. In jazz, saxophone is widespread. All three of these cultures have music.