MUSIC Q2 LT1 L2 P2: Latin American Dance Forms

Rhumba

• Rhumba, also spelled rumba, is a Latin American dance and music genre that originated in late 19th century Cuba.

• The name Rumba is considered to be one of the most beautiful Latin style dance, earning it’s nickname as “The Dance of Love”

• It blends African rhythms, European influences, and Cuban musical styles like habanera and trova.

• In the 1930s and 1940s, rhumba received international recognition through collaborations between African-American jazz musicians and Cuban artists, leading to the emergence of Afro-Cuban jazz.

• Influential artists like Xavier Cugat and Tito Puente helped popularize rhumba and introduced it to a wider audience.

• Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, rhumba transformed into sub-genres like mambo, cha-cha-cha, and salsa

Tango

• 19th Century: Evolved in Buenos Aires.

• Derived from the lively

  • Milonga Dance (Argentina)

  • Habanera Dance (Cuba and West Indies)

• 1920s: It became a popular ballroom dance in Europe and USA.

Calypso

• is an Afro-Caribbean music genre that originated in Trinidad and spread throughout the West Indies.

• The words of calypso songs are witty and humorous.

• Calypso music is known for its lively and ryhthmic beat often accompanied by humorous and socially relevant lyrics.

• It existed as a form of communication of enslaved Africans, and was used to mock their slave masters

• Calypso music first emerged in the eighteenth century in Trinidad among communities of African slaves.

• The French brought the tradition of Carnival to the islands, and when Trinidad and Tobago abolished slavery in 1834, former slaves became stars of the Carnival, putting on calypso performances in dedicated calypso tents.

• Over time, calypso evolved from a combination of French, English, Spanish, and African influences.

• The first documented calypso music recording dates back to 1912, when Lovey's String Band cut a recording while visiting New York City.

Salsa

• (spanish for “hot sauce”) style of popular music that developed from a blend of afro-cuban and puerto rican music with rock and jazz.

• evolved from the Cuban and other genres as a popular music of urban Caribean Hispanics

• influenced by jazz harmony and arrangement

• Also influenced both rock and jazz and the Latin rhythms

• Salsa is primarily sung in Spanish

• Only a few performers have performed this in the same kind of success in Spanish when sung it in English.

  • Celia - A Cuban singer

  • Cruz & band leader Tito Puente - whose careeres predate salsa

  • Eddie Palmieri - A young musician and bandleader

  • Wili Colon - A tromboist

  • Johnny Pacheco - A flute player

  • Ray Barretto - A percusiionist

Reggae

• Popular African Caribbean style of music of Jamaican origin

• Similar to rock but more rhythmic, aggressive, and characterized by stong accentuated offbeat

• Used to express indignation against social and political injustices

• Cult of Rastafarianism is a religious cult that is closely linked with Reggae, preaches that the Jamaicans will eventually return to their true home, Ethiopia, whose original name was Ras Tafari.

• Bob Marley was considered as their messiah in the cult of rastafarianismn.

• instruments used are: electric bass, keyboard ensemble, piano, drums, and lead rhythmic guitars that play short ostinato phrases with regular accents on the offbeats.