Music of El Salvador: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Collective term for the dances, rhythms and styles of music from El Salvador}}

'''El Salvador''' is a [[Central America]]n country whose culture is a mixture of [[Mayan]], [[Pipil]]/[[Aztec]], [[Spain|Spanish]] and [[West Africa]]n influences. Its music includes religious songs (mostly [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]]) used to celebrate [[Christmas]] and other [[holiday]]s, especially [[feast day]]s of the [[saint]]s. Satirical and rural lyrical themes are common. Popular styles in modern El Salvador include [[salsa music|salsa]], [[cumbia]], [[reggae]] and [[reggaeton]].

{{More citations needed|date=July 2019}}

{| class="toccolours" cellpadding="3" style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; width: 20em;"

|[[Hip Hop/Rap]]

|'''El Travieso'''

|'''El Seko'''

|[[Cumbia]]

|'''Xuc''

|-

|[[Merengue music|Merengue]]

|[[Rock music|Rock]]

|-

|[[Amerindian music|Indigenous]]

|-

|[[Jazz]]

|[[Funk]]

|[[Pop music|Pop]]

|-

|[[Ska]]

|[[Reggae]]

|-

|[[Latin Jazz]]

|[[Electronic music|Electronic]]

|-

|[[Son (music)|Son]]

|[[Latin Power]]

|-

|Folklorico

|[[Trova]]

|[[Salsa music|Salsa]]

|[[Pop Latino]]

|[[Electronic music|Electronica]]

|-

|[[Nueva canción]]

|[[Punta]]

|}

[[File:Casa Abierta-Familia Campesinas dueños de tierras. (25192145262).jpg|thumb|[[Salvadoran]] musicians]]

[[File:Tres xilófonos.JPG|thumb|upright|The [[Xylophone]] is El Salvador's national instrument]]

The '''music of [[El Salvador]]''' refers to the Music of the Republic of El Salvador and is encompassed in the wider [[Latin American Music|Latin American musical traditions]].

==Native music==

During the colonial period, El Salvador's music began to be influenced by various ethnic groups involved in the colonization process.

Prior to the arrival of the [[Spanish people|Spanish]] colonists, El Salvador shared in the [[Aztec]] culture, and used [[Nawat]] related to the [[Nahuatl language]]. The largest group of indigenous El Salvadoreans were the [[Pipil]]s; others included the [[Lenca]], [[Pok'omame]] and [[Chorti]]. Little is known about the folk music of these people prior to European contact. The beautiful music of the [[Pipil]] and [[Maya]] was

*Music instruments that are present in El Salvador are Native American [[Pan-Indianism]] instruments such as [[Native American flute]] and drums. El Salvador has an American indigenous population which includes the [[Lenca]], [[Pipil people|Pipil]] and [[Mayan people]].

==Popular music==

*European colonizers brought instruments, like the [[guitar]], [[pedal steel guitar]], [[fanfare trumpet]] and [[piano]].

Popular music in El Salvador uses [[flute]]s, [[drums]], [[scraper]]s and [[gourd]]s, as well more recently imported [[guitar]]s and other instruments. [[Cuba]]n, [[Colombia]]n and [[Mexico|Mexican]] music has infiltrated the country, especially [[ranchera]], [[cumbia]] and [[salsa music|salsa]].

*When African slaves were brought to El Salvador, they introduced instruments like the [[xylophone]], [[güira]], [[conga drums]] and [[mbira]].

Political chaos tore the country apart in the early 20th century, and music was often suppressed, especially those with strong native influences. In the [[1950s]], for example, it was decreed that a dance called [[xuc]] was to be the "national dance", in spite of it not being terribly common throughout the country. The [[1960s]] saw an influx of American and British pop and rock, inspiring like-minded Salvadoran bands, while the following two decades were dominated by a wave of popular genres from across Latin America, mostly folk-based singer-songwriter genres like [[Chile]]an [[nueva canción]]. [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] [[merengue]] and [[bachata]] also became very popular.

*A sizeable Arab migration that arrived into El Salvador in late 19th and early 20th century, from mainly [[Lebanese people]] and [[Palestinian Salvadorans]] brought Arab instruments like [[oud]], [[ney]], [[goblet drum]] and [[qanun (instrument)]].

Salvadoran cumbia is related to but very distinct from Colombian cumbia, which is much more well known outside of El Salvador. [[Chanchona]] ensembles, led by a pair or a single [[violin]], are popular, especially among the immigrant community in the [[Washington D.C.]] area.

*Roman Catholic religious [[contemporary Catholic liturgical music]] instrument such as [[tubular bells]], [[pipe organ]], and [[glass harmonica]] are also present.

{{CentralAmericanmusic}}

Modern Salvadoran indigenous music is inspired by [[ambient music]], [[soundscape]], ambient [[synthesizer]], and [[space music]], while Salvadoran Roman Catholic music is influenced by monastery chorus Latin choir [[Gregorian Chant|Gregorian chant]] music.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} This music includes religious songs (mostly [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]]) used to celebrate [[Christmas]] and other [[Religious holiday|holidays]], especially [[feast day]]s of the [[saint]]s with [[Tubular bells|tubular bell]] chimes. Satirical and rural lyrical themes are common and played with [[xylophone]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Popular styles in modern El Salvador include Salvadoran [[cumbia]], rock and native Mesoamerican Indigenous music which historically have had a long and large significance and impact to modern El Salvador music styles.

==Folk music==

{{LatinAmericanmusic}}

[[File:Debut de la Compañia Infantil de Teatro La Colmenita de El Salvador. (24314705069).jpg|thumb|Salvadoran women in folkloric garb]]

Musical repertoire consists of [[:es:Xuc|xuc]], danza, pasillo, marcha and canciones. The Xylophone is a representative folk music instrument. Some of the most well known songs are "El Carbonero" and "El Torito Pinto".{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Marimba is one of the traditional folk music styles performed in El Salvador and was first introduced by African slaves. Two versions, of the percussion instrument that has intonations like a piano, the ''marimba de arco'', which was played with a bow, and the ''marimba criolla'' were introduced. A coup d’état in 1932 resulted in the massacre of around 30,000 people and destruction of both the indigenous population and the original ''marimba de arco''. The modern version of the instrument is a three octave ''marimba de arco'' and the music is always instrumental. The heyday of marimba in El Salvador was from the 1920s to 1930s when musicians played internationally, but because the instrument could be adapted to other styles, it remained popular until rock came on the scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1990, a revival of the indigenous music began.<ref name="Torres (2013)">{{cite book|editor-last1=Torres|editor-first1=George |title=Encyclopedia of Latin American popular music|date=2013|publisher=Greenwood|___location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|isbn=978-0-313-34031-4|page=157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MX5BXxjwV9cC&pg=PA157|access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Casa Abierta Casas de la Cultura 03 (25990585684).jpg|thumb|[[Salvadoran]] indigenous musicians]]

''Marimba Centroamericana'' was one of the marimba bands popular in El Salvador and abroad. The first radio station in El Salvador, which was government-owned, played [[waltz]], [[foxtrot]], [[ranchera]]s, [[Pirekua|sones]], and [[Songo music|songo]]s, along with [[tango]]s. El Salvadoran musicians created their own versions of these styles.<ref name="Torres (2013)" /> Another early marimba band was ''Marimba Atlacatl'', founded by [[Francisco Antonio Beltran]] in 1917. He toured the world in the 1930s, and in 1935, won an award, presented by the [[Edward VIII|Prince of Wales]] and his fiancée [[Wallis Simpson]], at the Palm Beach Casino on the Azul Coast of France.<ref name="Marimba Atlacatl">{{cite web|title=Marimba Atlacatl - Central America (El Salvador, 1900s)|url=http://www.cancionesdelayer.com/forum/showthread.php|website=Canciones del Ayer|publisher=Canciones del Ayer|access-date=12 June 2015|___location=El Salvador|language=es}}</ref>

==Music of Northern El Salvador==

Northern El Salvador is composed of the departments of Chalatenango, Cabañas, Morazán and the northern parts of Santa Ana (e.g., Metapán), San Miguel (e.g., Cd. Barrios) and La Unión (e.g., Nueva Esparta) as well as the town of Suchitoto in the department of Cuscatlán. Northern El Salvador or la Franja Norte is characterized by its mountainous and cool terrain as well as being an area of heavy European settlement and as a result a large majority of the people who inhabit the Northern Region (especially Chalatenango, Metapán, and Morazán) are light-skinned people with colored eyes. The impact they have had on the local culture has been great and the music of Northern El Salvador clearly reflects the European influence in the area.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

'''Chanchona Music'''

Music from the northern department of Morazán is lively and upbeat with simple lyrics that describe country life, love, and working in the fields. It usually consists of a double bass (''chanchona'' in Salvadoran Spanish, a local word for a female hog, due to its sow-like appearance), two guitars, and two violins. Nowadays, congas and cowbells are added to the mix to produce sounds similar to cumbias. Chanchona music is popular in Eastern El Salvador and it is present there in most of their civic parades and religious holidays. Popular chanchona acts include: la Chanchona de Tito Mira, la Chanchona de Arcadio, Rayos de Oriente, Sonora Santa Marta, and Los Torogoces de Morazán.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Benetiz|first1=J|title=De Tu Seno Hemos Nacido: Origins of Salvadoran Music|url=http://salvignettes.com/2015/06/28/de-tu-seno-hemos-nacido-origins-of-salvadoran-music/|website=salvignettes.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628192345/http://salvignettes.com/2015/06/28/de-tu-seno-hemos-nacido-origins-of-salvadoran-music/|archive-date=2015-06-28}}</ref>

'''Zafacaite'''

In the northern department of Chalatenango a popular form of music and fandango-type-of-dance was called ''zafacaite''. The term is a compound word composed of the word ''zafa'', from ''zafar''(to loosen) and ''caite''— a Salvadoran term for shoes. It was called so because of the fast and intricate foot stepping down when dancing the music that tended to make ones shoes fly off. The music consisted of a duo or trio playing a guitar, accordion, and violin or sometimes just an accordion and violin but always to a fast-paced rhythm. Popular songs and dances included "La Raspa" ("The Scrape") and "El Levanta Polvo" ("The Dust Lifter").{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

==Native American indigenous music==

[[File:Festival para el Buen Vivir y Gobernando con la Gente-San Vicente (25065791041).jpg|thumb|Indigenous Salvadoran musical group]]

Inspired by [[Ambient music]], Indigenous music is influenced by the Native American indigenous [[Lenca]], [[Cacaopera people|Cacaopera]], and [[Pipil people|Pipil]] of El Salvador, and especially the [[Mayan people]] of the [[Mesoamerican region]] in Central America, are a staple in Salvadoran music. Many indigenous music groups such as (Talticpac), have risen in El Salvador, especially after the civil war. Many groups get inspiration from native indigenous music or themes from South and North American.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

==Salvadoran marching bands==

[[File:Banda El Salvador (8375950759).jpg|thumb|Banda El Salvador participating in the Rose Parade in 2013]]

School and military marching bands are a staple in El Salvador and it is a vital and crucial part of Salvadoran youth culture, whether in town or cities. Salvadoran marching bands are present in any kind of Salvadoran events, celebrations, and even in small activities, they become present along with their (cachiporristas) cheerleaders. Marching bands are a representative of Salvadoran culture and tradition, music tunes will include anything from national anthem, folkloric music to dance music like cumbia.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Marching bands in El Salvador were once called "war bands". After the peace accords that ended the civil war were signed, the named was changed to "peace bands".{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} The Salvadoran marching bands have even made international appearances in events such as the Rose Parade in the U.S city of Pasadena in New Years, the first time in 2008 and the most recent in 2013, where the Salvadoran marching bands of boys and girls have been able to embrace their talents to the world.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

== Salvadoran Civil War songs ==

Salvadoran Civil War songs located in the nueva cancion movement and genre, have been very popular since the 1970- to present day. They were broadcast through [[Radio Venceremos]] station and appealed to the majority of the peasant Salvadoran population. One of the most well known songs is "El Salvador ta venciendo" by Yolocamba Ita, as well as American songs like "U.S get out of El Salvador" dedicated to the U.S. involvement.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

== Salvadoran cumbia ==

Salvadoran cumbia is a staple in Salvadoran music. Groups such as Orquesta San Vicente who sing (Soy Salvadoreño), the Bravo group who sing (Sabrosa Cumbia) and the Hermanos Flores group who sing (Mi Pais) are three well known cumbia music groups in El Salvador.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

== Salvadoran rock and hip hop/rap ==

Rock and hip hop are very well established music genres in Salvadoran culture. Salvadoran rock has a longer history dating back before the civil war while Salvadoran hip hop arrived after the civil war and it is seen as a legacy of the Salvadoran exodus, diaspora, immigration and deportation from the United States, especially from cities such as Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Joaquin Santos, Crooked Stilo and Code Blue are just some of the most well known Salvadoran hip hop groups.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Foreign rock bands from the U.S and other parts of the world are also very welcomed and listened in El Salvador. Many foreign rock groups dedicated songs to El Salvador and the Salvadoran people during the civil war, songs such as "Bullet the Blue Sky" by U2, "El Salvador" by White Lion, and "Weapons for El Salvador" by The Ex were all inspired by the U.S. involvement in the El Salvador War.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

==Popular music and instruments==

[[File:Gobernando con la Gente Sonsonate 15 (23559501410).jpg|thumb|Salvadoran boy playing the guitar]]

Popular music in El Salvador uses [[xylophone]]s, [[tubular bells]], [[fanfare]] trumpets, [[guitar]]s, [[double bass]], [[harmonica]], [[glass harmonica]], [[piano]]s, [[flute]]s, [[drum]]s, [[Scraper (instrument)|scraper]]s, [[gourd]]s, and [[theremin]]. Indigenous instruments such as drum and flutes are a standard in all Salvadoran music used as a solidarity with El Salvador indigenous ancestry. "El Sombrero Azul," for example, is a cumbia song by Salsa Clave which starts with an indigenous tune.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Tubular bells are a cue for El Salvador's Christianity and majestic fanfare trumpets for El Salvador's national pride, the national anthem itself start off with majestic fanfare trumpets.

Music from [[Colombia]] mainly and other [[Caribbean]], [[South American]] and [[Central American]] music has infiltrated the country, especially [[Salsa music|salsa]] and [[cumbia music|cumbia]]. For example, the famous [[La Sonora Dinamita]] is a Colombian cumbia group with one [[Salvadoran]] vocalist (Susana Velasques).{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} As one of the first Cumbia groups to reach international success, it is credited with helping to popularize the genre throughout Latin America, and the world.

Political chaos tore the country apart in the early 20th century, and music was often suppressed, especially those with strong native influences. In the 1940s, for example, it was decreed that a dance called "[[:es:Xuc|Xuc]]" was to be the "national dance" which was created and led by Paquito Palaviccini's and his "Orquesta Internacional Polio."{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}<!-- <ref>[http://elsalvadorenelmundo.com/musica/compositor-musica-folklorica-salvadorena-379.html Xuc Musica folklorica de El Salvador]</ref> NON-AUTHORITATIVE--> That was one of the many orchestras he led during and in the mid-1940s, his other hit was known throughout the country. "Carnaval En San Miguel" was commonly known to the whole country as the first Salvadoran band that went on to receive numerous awards in the years to come. Paquito Palaviccini, being known throughout Central and South America, made tours to Cuba, Buenos Aires, where Paquito Studied, and other Latin American countries.

The inspiration came to Paquito to develop the "Xuc" and "El Baile del Torito" in a tour they had in Cuba. The 1960s saw an influx of American and British pop and rock, inspiring like-minded Salvadoran bands, while the following two decades were dominated by a wave of popular genres from across Latin America, mostly folk-based singer-songwriter genres like [[Chile]] and [[Nueva Canción]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} This new type of Salvadoran rock music was called "Guanarock" (portmanteau of Guanaco, a nickname demonym slang Salvadorans use to refer to themselves which comes from the word Guanacasco which means "gathering brotherhood" in Poton Lenca Mesoamerican language, and rock), which inspired bands such as Ayutush.

[[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] [[Merengue music|merengue]] and [[Bachata (music)|bachata]] also became very popular. In the last ten years, [[Salvadoran hip hop|hip hop]] and [[reggaeton]] has influenced the majority of the Salvadoran youth, which has formed groups like [[Pescozada]] and [[Mecate (band)|Mecate]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Also former Reggaeton producers like Wilfredo Rivas (Dj Emsy) and Jose Castaneda (Mambo King) who had worked with vary of famous Reggaeton and Hip hop artists such as: Dj Flex, Cheka, The Black Eyed Peas, Nicky Jam, El Torito and many others.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Salvadoran cumbia is related to but very distinct from Colombian cumbia, which is better known outside of El Salvador. [[Chanchona]] ensembles, led by a pair or a single [[violin]], are popular, especially among the immigrant community in the [[Washington D.C.]] area.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

===Alternative music===

[[File:Festival para el Buen Vivir y Gobernando con la Gente-San Vicente (24525350194).jpg|thumb|Salvadoran musical group in San Vicente]]

El Salvador has prominent [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], [[reggae]], [[ska]], [[dubstep]], [[Punk rock|punk]] and [[Electronic music|electronic]] dance scenes due to its prolific local bands and venues; and the recent increase in local concerts by international bands that include San Salvador as a frequent destination in their international tours. [[Anastasio y los del Monte]] was widely lauded for bringing reggae to El Salvador.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.laprensagrafica.com/2015/10/02/anastasio-y-los-del-monte-marco-todo-lo-que-somos-ahora|title="Anastasio y los del Monte marcó todo lo que somos ahora"|website=www.laprensagrafica.com|access-date=2017-03-30}}</ref>

==Art music==

The main composer of the 19th century was [[José Escolástico Andrino]] (born in Guatemala). [[Wenceslao García]] was the first native composer. Important military bands composers and arrangers include Jesús Alas, Alejandro Muñoz and Domingo Santos. [[María de Baratta]] was an important ethnomusicologist and composer in the 20th century.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

==Notable Salvadoran musicians==

*[[Erick Gudiel Saxofonista]]

*[[Ricardo Cabrera Martínez]]

*[[David Granadino]]

*[[Carlos Irigoyen Ruiz]]

*[[Juan Isolino Rosa]]

*[[Ciriaco de Jesús Alas]]

*[[Francisco "Pancho" Lara]]

*[[Francisco Palaviccini]]

*[[Esteban Servellón]]

*[[Benjamín Solís Menéndez]]

*[[Mario Roberto Zuñiga]]

*[[Alex Panamá]]

*[[German Cáceres]]

*[[Analu Dada]]

*[[Manuel Andreu Sifontes]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

*[http://www.bjmjr.com/afromestizo/el_salvador.htm Afromestizo: The Third Root – African Heritage of Central America]

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929130654/http://www.bjmjr.net/afromestizo/el_salvador.htm Afromestizo: The Third Root – African Heritage of Central America]

==External links==

{{portal|El Salvador}}

*[http://www.musica.com.sv/ ''El sitio de musica de El Salvador'' (The El Salvador Music Site)] – Spanish

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150712012647/http://musica.com.sv/ ''El sitio de musica de El Salvador'' (The El Salvador Music Site)] – Spanish

[[Category:Salvadoran music]]

*[http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/september07/cancion.htm ''Cantante Salvadorena Roxana Damas'']

*[http://www.blacknotemusic.com Electronic music from El Salvador]

*[http://www.saxofonistaelsalvador.com ''Erick Gudiel - Saxofonista El Salvador'']

{{El Salvador topics}}

{{Music of Central America}}

{{Music of Latin America}}

{{Hispanophone music}}

{{North America topic|Music of}}

[[Category:Music of El Salvador]]