Chamamé
Encyclopedia
Chamamé is a folk music
genre from the Argentine
Northeast, Mesopotamia
("Litoral") and in the south of Brazil
. Paraná
, Santa Catarina
, Rio Grande do Sul
and Mato Grosso do Sul
.
Jesuit Reductions
in the area encouraged cultural growth that lasted until the Jesuits
were expelled by the Spanish Crown in the late 18th century. Within this area, Yapeyú
in Corrientes
was a centre of musical culture that many point to as the birth place of the original Chamamé. Further mixing with instruments such as the Spanish guitar
, then the violin
and the accordion
, finally resulted in what we currently know under the name of Chamamé. There are recordings of early 20th century, and the term 'Chamamé' was already used in 1931, previously often referred to as the Corrientes' Polka
.
The Chamamé, original schottische
brought by the Volga German
immigrants, has a terminological Guaraní contribution, mix with the Spanish
guitar and the Europe
an accordion
from those immigrants that arrived to the area at the beginning of the 20th century.
Among chamamé figures of note are Raúl Barboza, Tarragó Ros, (his son) Antonio Tarragó Ros, Ernesto Montiel, Tránsito Cocomarola
, Mario Millán Medina, and modern musicians Chango Spasiuk
, Zitto Segovia, Mario Bofill, Alejandro Brittes and Los Núñez con Ruiz Guiñazú.
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....
genre from the Argentine
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...
Northeast, Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia, Argentina
La Mesopotamia, Región Mesopotámica is the humid and verdant area of north-east Argentina, comprising the provinces of Misiones, Entre Ríos and Corrientes. The region called Litoral consists of the Mesopotamia and the provinces of Chaco, Formosa and Santa Fe...
("Litoral") and in the south of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
, Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
, Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
and Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...
.
Jesuit Reductions
Jesuit Reductions
A Jesuit Reduction was a type of settlement for indigenous people in Latin America created by the Jesuit Order during the 17th and 18th centuries. In general, the strategy of the Spanish Empire was to gather native populations into centers called Indian Reductions , in order to Christianize, tax,...
in the area encouraged cultural growth that lasted until the Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
were expelled by the Spanish Crown in the late 18th century. Within this area, Yapeyú
Yapeyú
The word Yapeyú comes from the Guaraní language and means "ripe fruit".* Yapeyú, Corrientes*Yapeyú River now called Guaviraví River...
in Corrientes
Corrientes Province
Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.-History:...
was a centre of musical culture that many point to as the birth place of the original Chamamé. Further mixing with instruments such as the Spanish guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
, then the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and the accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, finally resulted in what we currently know under the name of Chamamé. There are recordings of early 20th century, and the term 'Chamamé' was already used in 1931, previously often referred to as the Corrientes' Polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
.
The Chamamé, original schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...
brought by the Volga German
Volga German
The Volga Germans were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed,...
immigrants, has a terminological Guaraní contribution, mix with the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
guitar and the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
from those immigrants that arrived to the area at the beginning of the 20th century.
Among chamamé figures of note are Raúl Barboza, Tarragó Ros, (his son) Antonio Tarragó Ros, Ernesto Montiel, Tránsito Cocomarola
Tránsito Cocomarola
Mario del Tránsito Cocomarola was an Argentine musician and folklorist, and is known as one of the most influential figures of chamamé...
, Mario Millán Medina, and modern musicians Chango Spasiuk
Chango Spasiuk
Horacio "Chango" Spasiuk is an Argentine chamamé musician and accordion player.Of Ukrainian grandparents, El Chango had a strong Polka music influence from his early days; Eastern European musical influences were also already present in the chamamé music of the region...
, Zitto Segovia, Mario Bofill, Alejandro Brittes and Los Núñez con Ruiz Guiñazú.
External links
- Strum guitar for Chamamé (English)
- Chamame.tv (La Pagina Oficial de La Fiesta Nacional del Chamamé, Argentina)
- Chamigos.com (Chamame Social Network)
- Chamame.com.br (Chamame website in portuguese and online radio)
- SiempreChamame.com.ar (Chamamé site & online radio)
- Corrientes Chamamé