Guajira (music)
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Guajira
The Cuban guajira preserved the characteristic rhythm of its ancestors, the
Its form usually alternates a first section in minor mode, with a second section modulating to its direct Major relative. Its lyrics frequently refer to rural themes in an idealistic and bucolic way, and generally evoke the goodness of rural life and romantic love stories.[4]
Guajira de salón, or guajira-son
From the 1930s, the guajira was refined and popularized by the singer and guitarist Guillermo Portabales, whose elegant style was known as guajira de salón or guajira-son. This is nothing but another case of synonymy within the Cuban popular music, because in spite of being named as guajira, the style of his songs was nothing else but the one of the Cuban Son and Bolero-Son; although their lyrics were always related to rural themes.[5] Since the thirties until his death in a traffic accident, in 1970, Guillermo Portabales sang and recorded numerous guajiras de Salón through North and South America with great popular acclaim.
Other renowned performers of guajira-son were Celina González, Coralia Fernández, Ramón Veloz y Radeúnda Lima. One of the most famous guajiras-son is the Guantanamera, composed by Joseíto Fernández[5] and internationally popularized during the 1960s by the American folk singer Pete Seeger.
Etymology
The term comes from the Antillean Arawak and means: lord, powerful man. In Cuba it is used to name those people who work or live in the field, or to name people who behave like them in the sense that they can be rude or with little knowledge (cf. Hillbilly). Also colloquially you can call people who live outside the capital of Cuba or in rural areas without having to be farm workers. In some phrases it is used to refer to a person who is shy "no seas guajiro y pregúntale" ("don't be a peasant and ask her").[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ Galán, Natalio: Cuba y sus sones, Pre-Textos, Artegraf S.A., Madrid, España, 1997, p. 29.
- ^ a b Manuel, Peter: The guajira between Cuba and Spain: A study in continuity and change. Latin American Music Review, volume 25, No. 2, Fall/Winter, 2004.
- ^ Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal: Discografía de la Música Cubana. Editorial Corripio C. por A., República Dominicana, 1994, p. 179.
- ^ Sánchez de Fuentes, Eduardo 1923. El folklore en la música cubana. La Habana. p56
- ^ a b Linares, María Teresa y Núñez, Faustino: La música entre Cuba y España, Fundación Autor 1998, p. 75.