Chacarera
Encyclopedia
The Chacarera is a dance of Argentine origin. It is a genre of folk music
that, for many Argentines
, serves as a rural counterpart to the cosmopolitan imagery of the Tango
. A dance form played by contemporary musicians as soloists or in small ensembles of voice, guitar, violin and bombo drum, the Chacarera is often legitimized by a discourse espousing its “origin” in the remote province of Santiago del Estero
. It is also the product of a romanticized construction of national identity projected by urban cultural institutions and disseminated through the mass media.
syncopation
. Melody lines tend to begin in duple meter (6/8), and conclude in triple meter (3/4). Accompaniment parts – including those on guitar, piano, bandoneón and drum – employ a constant compound meter of 6/8 and 3/4, with accents on the second dotted quarter and the third quarter note, respectively (Abalos 1952). The downbeat is generally elided until cadences, a characteristic that is particularly salient in the case of the “Chacarera Trunca” style, which cadences on the third beat.
A B A B A B B
(Vega 1944). Male dancers circle about their female partners, seducing them with foot stomping (zapateo
) and handkerchief waving during the A sections and “coronating,” or embracing, them in the final B section.
," a nationalist "back-to-the-roots" movement inspired by increasing Argentine urbanization, and the influence of romantic European philosophy (Delaney 2002). The musical impact of “nativism” was felt particularly strongly in the rural province of Santiago del Estero, a region identified as a wellspring of “authentic” Argentine culture (Rojas 1905). Both Argentine individuals and institutions were inspired by the nativist perspective. In 1911, the Santiagueñan band leader Andrés Chazarreta established the nation’s first folk music “ballet” (Compañía de bailes nativos) (Vega 1981). In 1917, meanwhile, the Universidad de Tucumán hired the pianist Manuel Gómez Carrillo to conduct ethnomusicological research in Santiago (Veniard 1999). Chazarreta and Carrillo’s publications are the first to mention the Chacarera as a musical genre. While both musicians claimed to be replicating “folk” traditions in their books and recordings, some scholars credit them with establishing the form and choreography of the dance (Chazarreta 2007).
Chacarera de las Piedras (Yupanqui)
La Olvidada (Yupanqui)
La Vieja (Hermanos Abalos)
Chacarera del rancho (Hermanos Abalos)
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
that, for many Argentines
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...
, serves as a rural counterpart to the cosmopolitan imagery of the Tango
Tango (ballroom)
Ballroom Tango is a ballroom dance that branched away from its original Argentine roots by allowing European, American, Hollywood, and competitive influences into the style and execution of the dance....
. A dance form played by contemporary musicians as soloists or in small ensembles of voice, guitar, violin and bombo drum, the Chacarera is often legitimized by a discourse espousing its “origin” in the remote province of Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants, making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surface area of 2,116 km². It lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of...
. It is also the product of a romanticized construction of national identity projected by urban cultural institutions and disseminated through the mass media.
Chacarera music
While much of the Chacarera repertoire can be traced to the 1920s sheet music of Andrés Chazarreta (Chazarreta 1947[1916]), the contemporary Chacarera style described in this article was standardized by the recordings of the 1950s folk group Los Hermanos Abalos (Abalos 1952). Today, this style is ubiquitous throughout Argentina, with important variants appearing in the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Salta.Melody and harmony
Contemporary Chacareras generally utilize descending, minor-mode melodies within an octave range. They are not harmonically distinctive, relying predominantly on tonic and dominant accompaniment, and the occasional shift to the relative major. Some modern Chacarera musicians use major-seventh and other altered chords in their arrangements.Rhythm
Contemporary Chacarera music is distinguished by its unique hemiolaHemiola
In modern musical parlance, a hemiola is a metrical pattern in which two bars in simple triple time are articulated as if they were three bars in simple duple time...
syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
. Melody lines tend to begin in duple meter (6/8), and conclude in triple meter (3/4). Accompaniment parts – including those on guitar, piano, bandoneón and drum – employ a constant compound meter of 6/8 and 3/4, with accents on the second dotted quarter and the third quarter note, respectively (Abalos 1952). The downbeat is generally elided until cadences, a characteristic that is particularly salient in the case of the “Chacarera Trunca” style, which cadences on the third beat.
Structure
The Chacarera is a binary form. The A section (6 or 8 bars) doubles as an introduction and an interlude. The B section (8 bars) returns twice before concluding with a repetition. The entire form repeats two times.A B A B A B B
Chacarera choreography
The Chacarera is a Contradance-influenced partner dance with similarities to many Ibero-American folk dances, including the Chilean (Zama)cueca and the Peruvian MarineraMarinera
Marinera is a coastal dance of Peru, generally called the "National Dance of Peru." Marinera is a graceful and romantic couple's dance that uses handkerchiefs as props. The dance is an elegant and stylized reenactment of a courtship, and it shows a blend of the different cultures of Peru...
(Vega 1944). Male dancers circle about their female partners, seducing them with foot stomping (zapateo
Zapateo
Zapateo which literally means "shoe tapping", is rooted in the Spanish Flamenco and before that, in the ancient cultural influences imported in to Europe by the Gypsies....
) and handkerchief waving during the A sections and “coronating,” or embracing, them in the final B section.
History of the Chacarera genre
According to the musicologist Carlos Vega (Vega 1944), the Chacarera belongs to a family of Ibero-American dances derived from baroque Contradance choreography. While this assertion may be accurate, Vega himself admits to the absence of documentation regarding the Chacarera before the advent of the recording industry. As the first mention of the Chacarera as a musical genre appears in the early twentieth century publications of the Santiagueñan band leader Andrés Chazarreta, it may thus be more accurate to place this dance’s “origin” within the modern era.Argentine musical nationalism
The Chacarera can be understood as an outgrowth of Argentine "nativismNativism
Nativism may refer to:* Nativism or political nativism, a term used by scholars to refer to ethnocentric beliefs relating to immigration and nationalism; antiforeignism...
," a nationalist "back-to-the-roots" movement inspired by increasing Argentine urbanization, and the influence of romantic European philosophy (Delaney 2002). The musical impact of “nativism” was felt particularly strongly in the rural province of Santiago del Estero, a region identified as a wellspring of “authentic” Argentine culture (Rojas 1905). Both Argentine individuals and institutions were inspired by the nativist perspective. In 1911, the Santiagueñan band leader Andrés Chazarreta established the nation’s first folk music “ballet” (Compañía de bailes nativos) (Vega 1981). In 1917, meanwhile, the Universidad de Tucumán hired the pianist Manuel Gómez Carrillo to conduct ethnomusicological research in Santiago (Veniard 1999). Chazarreta and Carrillo’s publications are the first to mention the Chacarera as a musical genre. While both musicians claimed to be replicating “folk” traditions in their books and recordings, some scholars credit them with establishing the form and choreography of the dance (Chazarreta 2007).
The impact of the recording industry
The Chacarera recordings and compositions of Manuel Gómez Carrillo and Andrés Chazarreta have provided a foundation for recording artists throughout the twentieth century, including Atahualpa Yupanqui, Los Hermanos Abalos, and more recent musical ensembles like the Dúo Coplanacu, Peteco Carabajal and La Chacarerata Santiagueña. The distribution of these recordings via record and radio has led to the establishment of local, national, and international audiences for the genre. In Santiago del Estero, Mendoza, and Buenos Aires alike, musicians gather in Peñas, or small folkloric clubs, to sing and dance their favorite Chacareras, often with specific regional flare. In neighboring nation-states including Uruguay, Perú, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile, Chacarera recordings of artists like Yupanqui are well-known, and often incorporated into local repertoires.The Chacarera as art music
The Chacarera has also provided inspiration for art music composers like Alberto Ginastera, who used the genre’s distinctive syncopations frequently in his work. Manuel Gómez Carrillo himself was a conservatory-trained pianist, and set a precedent for this kind of “academic” setting in his compositions for solo piano.Some famous Chacareras
Añoranzas (Julio Argentino Gerez)(this is a "chacarera doble)Chacarera de las Piedras (Yupanqui)
La Olvidada (Yupanqui)
La Vieja (Hermanos Abalos)
Chacarera del rancho (Hermanos Abalos)
See also
- List of dances
- 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...
- Latin American folklore
- GatoGato (artform)The gato is a style of Argentine music and an associated dance. Is an folkloric dance very popular in the country. His rhythm is like the chacarera, but its structure is different. Usually, the lyrics of gato are hots or humorous ....