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Gaita (music style)
Encyclopedia
Gaita is a style of Venezuelan folk music
from Maracaibo
in Zulia State. According to Joan Corominas, it may come from gaits, the Gothic word for "goat", which is the skin generally used for the membrane of the furro instrument. Other instruments used in gaita include maracas, cuatro
, charrasca and tambora (Venezuelan drum)
. Song themes range from humorous and love songs to protest song
s.
The style became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and it fused with other styles such as salsa
and merengue
in the 1970s.
Famous gaita groups include Maracaibo 15
, Gran Coquivacoa
, Barrio Obrero, Cardenales del Éxito, Koquimba, Melody Gaita, Estrellas del Zulia, Saladillo, and many others. The group Guaco
started as a gaita group but now plays salsa.
Trinidad has adopted gaita and calls it parang with some variation. Trinidad shares a common history of Spanish colonisation with Venezuela and there have been close relationships between the two countries with many aspects of shared culture. Since Trinidad shares a history of oil exploration & production with Venezuela, many early workers within the Venezuelan oil industry came from Trinidad and this has stimulated many interactions between the peoples. The Taíno people
from Venezuela first settled Trinidad 10,000 years ago before sea level rise further divided Trinidad from mainland Venezuela.
Furro Gaitas
Other types, from Zulia
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
from Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
in Zulia State. According to Joan Corominas, it may come from gaits, the Gothic word for "goat", which is the skin generally used for the membrane of the furro instrument. Other instruments used in gaita include maracas, cuatro
Cuatro (instrument)
The cuatro is any of several Latin American instruments of the guitar or lute family. The cuatro is smaller than a guitar. Cuatro means four in Spanish, although current instruments may have more than four strings....
, charrasca and tambora (Venezuelan drum)
Tambora (Venezuelan drum)
In Gaita Zuliana music, from Venezuela, in South America, the tambora is a one-headed drum played with sticks. The player can sit on it or put it between his or her legs to perform rhythms on the instrument, sticking on the head, on the rim or on the body of the drum.-External links:**...
. Song themes range from humorous and love songs to protest song
Protest song
A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
s.
The style became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and it fused with other styles such as salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
in the 1970s.
Famous gaita groups include Maracaibo 15
Maracaibo 15
Maracaibo 15 is a Venezuelan gaita group. Founded in 1974 by singer Betulio Medina in Caracas, the name of this group reflects that it was formed by 15 people. Maracaibo 15 combines gaita with other folkloric music, such as parrandas and eastern music and international music such as cumbias, porros...
, Gran Coquivacoa
Gran Coquivacoa
Gran Coquivacoa is a Venezuelan gaita zuliana group founded in 1968, by Jesús Bocachico Petit, Nelson Suárez, Rody Tigrera, Pedro Arteaga and Manolo Salazar, at the city of Cabimas, Zulia State)....
, Barrio Obrero, Cardenales del Éxito, Koquimba, Melody Gaita, Estrellas del Zulia, Saladillo, and many others. The group Guaco
Guaco (band)
Tropical music band from Venezuela that was formed in Maracaibo by Mario Viloria and Gustavo Aguado, Zulia in 1968. Mario retired after being the main founder because of college studies but during his participation in the group he was the main composer for several years and his home was the main...
started as a gaita group but now plays salsa.
Trinidad has adopted gaita and calls it parang with some variation. Trinidad shares a common history of Spanish colonisation with Venezuela and there have been close relationships between the two countries with many aspects of shared culture. Since Trinidad shares a history of oil exploration & production with Venezuela, many early workers within the Venezuelan oil industry came from Trinidad and this has stimulated many interactions between the peoples. The Taíno people
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
from Venezuela first settled Trinidad 10,000 years ago before sea level rise further divided Trinidad from mainland Venezuela.
Types
There are many types of Gaita.Furro Gaitas
- Folk Gaita (disappeared)
- Contemporary Gaita
- Pop Gaita
- Romantic Gaita
Other types, from Zulia
- Santa Lucía Gaita
- Tambora Gaita (TamboreraTamboreraTamborera is an Afro-Venezuelan folk genre of music that features rich use of the tambora drum in carrying the main beat. It emerged in the state of Zulia in western Venezuela, most notably in the region surrounding Maracaibo Lake...
) - Perijanera Gaita
Further reading
- Carruyo, L. (2005), "La gaita Zuliana: Music and the politics of protest in Venezuela", Latin American Perspectives 32 (3), pp. 98–111