Pregón
Encyclopedia
Pregón, a Spanish word meaning announcement or street-seller's cry, has a particular meaning in Cuban music
, and Latin American music
generally. It means either a song based on a street-seller's cry or a streer-seller's song ("canto de los vendedores ambulantes").
The cries of hawkers and costermongers
could once be heard in every city in the world, though their use as a basis for song is particularly notable in South America
and the Caribbean
. In Cuba, ethnologist Miguel Barnet noted that cross-fertilisation was common as hawkers also often based their pregones on rural tunes or popular genres such as son and guaracha
. The Cuban music historian Cristóbal Díaz lists nearly five hundred examples of popular tunes based on hawker songs, mostly from Cuba, but also Mexico
, Chile
, Colombia
, Panama
, Venezuela
, Peru
, Argentina
, the Dominican Republic
and Puerto Rico
.
The most famous example is El manisero, the Peanut Vendor, written by Moisés Simons
, and first recorded by Rita Montaner
in 1928. The version recorded by Don Azpiazú
in New York in 1930, with Antonio Machín
as the singer, became a world-wide hit. This recording started a 'rumba' craze which swept North America and much of Europe in the 1930s. Peanut Vendor had a second life as a hit number when Stan Kenton
recorded it as an instrumental in 1947.
Some other great pregones and their authors:
Music of Cuba
The Caribbean island of Cuba has developed a wide range of creolized musical styles, based on its cultural origins in Europe and Africa. Since the 19th century its music has been hugely popular and influential throughout the world...
, and Latin American music
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
generally. It means either a song based on a street-seller's cry or a streer-seller's song ("canto de los vendedores ambulantes").
The cries of hawkers and costermongers
Costermonger
Costermonger, or simply Coster, is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention...
could once be heard in every city in the world, though their use as a basis for song is particularly notable in 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...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. In Cuba, ethnologist Miguel Barnet noted that cross-fertilisation was common as hawkers also often based their pregones on rural tunes or popular genres such as son and guaracha
Guaracha
The guaracha is a genre of Cuban popular music, of rapid tempo and with lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical theatres and in low-class dance salons. They became an integral part of Bufo comic...
. The Cuban music historian Cristóbal Díaz lists nearly five hundred examples of popular tunes based on hawker songs, mostly from Cuba, but also Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, 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...
, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
The most famous example is El manisero, the Peanut Vendor, written by Moisés Simons
Moisés Simons
Moisés Simons , was a leading Cuban composer, pianist and orchestra leader. He was the composer of the Peanut Vendor, possibly the most famous piece of music created by a Cuban musician...
, and first recorded by Rita Montaner
Rita Montaner
Rita Montaner, born Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda , was a Cuban singer, pianist, actress and star of stage, film, radio and television. In Cuban parlance, she was a vedette , and she was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and New York, where she performed, filmed and recorded on...
in 1928. The version recorded by Don Azpiazú
Don Azpiazu
Don Azpiazú was a leading Cuban orchestral director in the 1920s and 30s. His band introduced authentic Cuban dance music and Cuban musical instruments to a wide audience in the USA...
in New York in 1930, with Antonio Machín
Antonio Machín
Antonio Machín was a Cuban singer and musician. His version of El Manisero, recorded in New York, 1930, with Don Azpiazú's orchestra, was the first million record seller for a Cuban artist...
as the singer, became a world-wide hit. This recording started a 'rumba' craze which swept North America and much of Europe in the 1930s. Peanut Vendor had a second life as a hit number when Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
recorded it as an instrumental in 1947.
Some other great pregones and their authors:
- Frutas del Caney ("Fruits from El Caney") by Félix B. Cagnet - Cuba
- Rica pulpa by Eliseo GrenetEliseo GrenetEliseo Grenet Sánchez was a Cuban pianist and a leading composer/arranger of the day. He composed music for stage shows and films, and some famous Cuban dance music. Eliseo was one of three musical brothers, all composers, the others being Emilio and Ernesto...
- Cuba - El afilador ("The knife grinder") by Agustín Magaldi - Argentina
- El botellero ("The bottle-man") by Gilberto Valdés - Cuba
- El carbonero ("The charcoal seller") by Iván Fernandez - Cuba)
- El limpiabotas ("The shoeshine boy") by Los Cuates Castilla - Mexico
- El pregón de las flores ("The flower seller's cry") by Ernesto LecuonaErnesto LecuonaErnesto Lecuona y Casado was a Cuban composer and pianist of Canarian father and Cuban mother, and worldwide fame. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional quality....
- Cuba - La violetera ("The girl who sells violets") by Eduardo Montesinos López, 1958 - Spain
- Se va el dulcerito ("The sweet seller is leaving") by Rosendo RuizRosendo RuizRosendo Ruiz Suárez was one of the founders of the trova movement in Cuban music. He was originally a tailor, who became a singer, guitarist and composer...
- Cuba - Yo vendo unos ojos negros ("Some black eyed (peas) for sale") - Chile (pre-1910, unknown composer).