Music of Ecuador
Encyclopedia
The music of Ecuador has a long history. Pasillo is a genre of indigenous Latin music. It is extremely popular in Ecuador, where it is the "national genre of music." Pasillo as a genre is also present in the mountainous regions of Colombia, Panama and Venezuela, to a lesser extent.
Today, it has incorporated more European features of classical dance, such as a waltz. As it spread during the Gran Chaco period, pasillo also absorbed the individual characteristics of isolated villages. This gives it an eclectic feel; however, the style, tone, and tempo of the music differ in each village.
In its waltz, pasillo alters the classically European dance form to accompany guitar, mandolin, and other string instruments.
The pacific coast of Ecuador is known for the Amor Fino, a popular type of song, as well as a variety of dance music.
Pasillo
, Pasacalle and Yarabi
are popular folk songs. El pasillo is played with guitar
and rondin, the latter being similar to a flute
, and is usually downtempo; it is descended from the walz
. El pasacalle is a form of dance music
, while the sentimental el yarabi is probably the most popular form in Ecuador.
. Guitar and brass bands are also found throughout the area. Popular performers include Peguche, Benitez-Valencia and Ñanda-Mañachi.
people are well-known worldwide. A small panpipe called the rondador is the most distinctive instrument, but ensembles are typically groups of wind instrument
s, guitar
trios or brass band
s. Folk rhythms include cachullapi, yumbo and danzante
Musicians like Huayanay, Jatari, Pueblo Nuevo and Andes Manta have helped to popularize Andean-Ecuadoran music.
, Merengue
and Mapalé
all the cities in the coast of Ecuador listen to this type of music, cities such as Guayaquil
and Esmeraldas
.
is particularly well-known http://www.galapagos-islands-tourguide.com/ecuador-music.html As well as the Independent Music Festival Quito Fest.
Today, it has incorporated more European features of classical dance, such as a waltz. As it spread during the Gran Chaco period, pasillo also absorbed the individual characteristics of isolated villages. This gives it an eclectic feel; however, the style, tone, and tempo of the music differ in each village.
In its waltz, pasillo alters the classically European dance form to accompany guitar, mandolin, and other string instruments.
The pacific coast of Ecuador is known for the Amor Fino, a popular type of song, as well as a variety of dance music.
Pasillo
Pasillo
Pasillo is a South American genre of music extremely popular in the territories that composed 19th century Gran Colombia: Colombia; Ecuador, where it is considered the national musical style; and to a lesser extent in the mountainous regions of Venezuela and Panamá...
, Pasacalle and Yarabi
Yarabi
Yarabi is a Romanian dance-pop and house act of international success. The band has success in its country of origin Romania, in addition to Poland, France, Bulgaria, Turkey, Hungary, Moldova, Italy, Spain and is credited to be one of the most successful Romanian dance bands along with O-Zone,...
are popular folk songs. El pasillo is played with guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and rondin, the latter being similar to a 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...
, and is usually downtempo; it is descended from the walz
Walz
Walz can mean many things, including, waltz, which is a German dance.Walz is a surname that may refer to:*Carl E. Walz, a US-American astronaut*Christian Walz, a Swedish musician*Amy Walz, a fashion model and actress...
. El pasacalle is a form of dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, while the sentimental el yarabi is probably the most popular form in Ecuador.
Central Ecuador
The instrument of the indigenous communities of the Ecuadorian highlands is largely fluteFlute
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...
. Guitar and brass bands are also found throughout the area. Popular performers include Peguche, Benitez-Valencia and Ñanda-Mañachi.
Andean music (La Sierra)
The mountainous, Andean region of Ecuador, the Sierra, is home to a style of music called Sanjuanito. The music of the OtavaloOtavalo
Otavalo, capital of Otavalo Canton, is a largely indigenous town in the Imbabura Province of Ecuador. The town has about 50,000 inhabitants and is surrounded by the peaks of Imbabura 4,630m, Cotacachi 4,995m, and Mojanda volcanoes.- The market :...
people are well-known worldwide. A small panpipe called the rondador is the most distinctive instrument, but ensembles are typically groups of wind instrument
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
s, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
trios or brass band
Brass band
A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
s. Folk rhythms include cachullapi, yumbo and danzante
Musicians like Huayanay, Jatari, Pueblo Nuevo and Andes Manta have helped to popularize Andean-Ecuadoran music.
Musica Costeña (Music of the Coast)
People from the Coast of Ecuador or Costeños listen to music of Afro-Ecuadorian or Afro-Caribbean descent such as SalsaSalsa 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...
, 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...
and Mapalé
Mapalé
Mapalé is a Colombian and Ecuadorian dance original of the Afro Colombian and Afro Ecuadorian culture of the Caribbean Region of Colombia and the Coastal cities of Ecuador such as Guayaquil and Esmeraldas.Origins=...
all the cities in the coast of Ecuador listen to this type of music, cities such as Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
and Esmeraldas
Esmeraldas
Esmeraldas is the Spanish word for 'emeralds'. It is a toponym that may refer to the following:*Brazil**Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais*Ecuador**Esmeraldas, Ecuador**Esmeraldas River**Esmeraldas Province**Esmeraldas Canton*Special:Allpages/Esmeraldas...
.
Folk instruments
- cunuca: a percussion instrumentPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
similar to a conga drum - bombos
- conuno
- Pingullo: a wind instrument similar to a wooden recorder. Native to the Quichua people in the NapoNapoNapo or NAPO may refer to*Napo County, in Guangxi, China*Napo District, in Maynas, Peru*Napo River, Ecuador*Napo Province, Ecuador*National Association of Probation Officers*National Association of Professional Organizers...
province
Music institutions
The Fundación de Desarrollo Social Afroecuatoriano (AZUCAR) has existed since 1993, and offers a variety of workshops for all ages in music and dance, as well as handicrafts and other topics http://www.goecuador.com/mp3/azucar.html.Music festivals
Ecuador has many annual festivals, with nearly every village celebrating a Roman Catholic Saint. The annual festival in August held in San Antonio de PichinchaSan Antonio de Pichincha
San Antonio de Pichincha, or simply San Antonio, also but less frequently known by its older name San Antonio de Lulumpamba , is a rural parish of Quito Canton, Pichincha Province, Ecuador. The seat of the parish lies in an arid plain with sandy soil known as Lulumpamba...
is particularly well-known http://www.galapagos-islands-tourguide.com/ecuador-music.html As well as the Independent Music Festival Quito Fest.