Los Fronterizos
Encyclopedia
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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...
musical band consisting of four men. The group was established in 1953 in the northern province of Salta
Salta
Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...
-- bordering on Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
-- from which "Los Fronterizos" ("men of the frontier") is derived.
Los Fronterizos are among the most famous Argentine musical bands. They recorded over thirty records during the fifty years in which they were active. Their genre is Folklore Argentino ("Argentine Folk") which blends powerful, vibrant rhythms from the Spanish Flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
with indigenous
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n elements such as the Andean
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, or quena
Quena
The quena is the traditional flute of the Andes. Usually made of bamboo or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole and is open on both ends. To produce sound, the player closes the top end of the pipe with the flesh between his chin and lower lip, and blows a stream of air downward, along...
. The latter is a hallmark of the Musica Andina
Andean music
Andean music comes from the general area inhabited by Quechuas, Aymaras and other peoples that lived roughly in the area of the Inca Empire prior to European contact. It includes folklore music of parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela...
genre which became well known in the U.S with Simon & Garfunkel's English version of "El Condor Pasa". Some of the Fronterizos' most famous records are Personalidad en Folklore (circa 1962), Color en Folklore, and Ariel Ramirez
Ariel Ramirez
Ariel Ramírez was an Argentine composer, pianist and music director. He was considered "a chief exponent of Argentine folk music" and noted for his "iconic" musical compositions....
' Misa Criolla (1964 and 1977). In most songs, the band's instrumentation includes acoustic guitars and bombo legüero
Bombo legüero
Bombo legüero is an Argentine drum traditionally made of a hollowed tree trunk and covered with cured skins of animals such as goats, cows or sheep. It derives from the old European military drums, and uses a similar arrangement of hoops and leather thongs and loops to tighten the drumheads, which...
(a large indigenous drum), and occasionally, charango
Charango
The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, 66 cm long, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo. Primarily played in traditional Andean music, and is sometimes used by other Latin American musicians. Many contemporary charangos are now made with...
and quena.
Los Fronterizos' success may be attributed to their touching melodies written by some of Argentina
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...
's best songwriters and to their remarkable harmony and rare combination of voices (one alto, two tenors, and one bass).
The group formally disbanded in 1977 but continued to reunite and perform in tours with great success for years thereafter. The very powerful lead voice (one of the two tenors) belonged to Gerardo López who died in 2004.
Members
- Gerardo López
- Eduardo Madeo
- Carlos Barbaran
- Juan Carlos Moreno
- Julio Cesar Isella; replaced Barbaran in 1956
- Yayo Quesada; replaced Isella in 1964