Cool Stuff: South America

 

Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic week. This week in class, we learned about the Andean Natives that live in South America. I enjoyed learning about their culture and I thought it would be fun to explore musical aspects in South America. I have always wanted to visit and enjoy the southern side of the Latin American culture. The first stop that we are making today is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Carnival is a well-known festival that happens every year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a fun festival with parades and dancing that many people celebrate. Carnival was originally a food festival in the Catholic faith, and it was brought over from Portugal. It was a festival that signaled the start of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting. The first Carnival festivals were elegant balls that were hosted in Portuguese elites’ houses. They looked down upon the lower classes and African descendants and Carnival was segregated for many years. It was until the 20^th century when Carnival was desegregated, and the people celebrated together. Many of the Carnival festival that we know today is influenced by African culture. The parades were to ward off evil spirits and the feathered costumes symbolized rebirth and the rise of the spirits. Here is a video that goes into a little bit more about the origin story of Carnival if you are interested.

Our next stop we will be taking this week is Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Tango has a African, European and native Argentinean influence. It was a very popular dance in the the late 1880's among poor immigrants in Buenos Aires. The Tango was influenced by the emotion of young immigrant men who missed their families and wanted a better life for themselves. It is believed that Tango developed from African-Argentine dance venues, like bars and dance halls, from young immigrant men called compadritos. Tango was looked down upon in the upper class and they tried to keep it confined with in the lower class community. Now, Tango is a dance that is know and appreciated by many countries around the world.

Our last stop for the week is Medellin,Colombia. One artist who I am starting to like is Karol G. She is from Colombia and is a very versatile Latin American artist. Karol G always was passionate about music. She started off as a reggaeton artist and came out with her first single at the age of 16. She gained more popularity when she competed in El Factor X which is the Colombian version of The X Factor. She has collaborated with other Latin American artists like Anuel AA, Daddy Yankee, Nicky Jam, Bad Bunny Ozuna and J Balvin and also Hip Hop/Rap artists like Nicki Minaj and Pop Smoke. She won the 2019 Best Song at the Premio ASCAP ceremony and was nominated for three Billboard Latin Music Awards. Here are a couple of songs that are sings. Also, beware of Tusa because it is explicit.

Well that's all for this weeks blog. I hope you enjoyed visiting South America and let me know what do you think?

Sources:

Argentine Tango -- A Brief History, www.tejastango.com/tango_history.html.

“Brazilian Musical Instruments " Natal.” Natal, 28 June 2019, www.natalriograndedonorte.com/brazilian-musical-instruments/.

Brown, Sarah. “How Did Brazil's Carnival Start?” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 4 Jan. 2018, theculturetrip.com/south-america/brazil/articles/how-did-brazils-carnival-start/.

“Carnival History: Brazil Carnival.” Carnival History | Brazil Carnival |RioCarnaval.org, www.riocarnaval.org/brazil-carnival/carnival-history.

Collar, Matt. “Karol G: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/karol-g-mn0003495582/biography.

“Tango History - Origin and Characteristics of Tango.” History of Tango - Origin and Characteristics of Tango, www.dancefacts.net/tango/history-of-tango/.

“Who Is Karol G? Everything You Need to Know.” Karol G (Carolina Giraldo Navarro) - Bio, Facts, Family Life of Colombian Singer, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/karol-g-43626.php.