The Diversity of Afro-Latin American Music Culture - Assignment Example

Lecturer Latin American Music The Latin music has certain basic elements. The music comprises styles and rhythms which relate or originate from Latin America. The Latin music has significant influence in the USA and European countries like Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Latin music has four main determining features: language, cultural origin, style and geography. The origin of the Latin American music is traced to the historical era of Latin America colonization by Spain and Portugal. Spanish, Portuguese and French are the major languages used in Latin America music (Andrews 2). 2. The Cha-cha refers to a dance style of Cuban origin.

The dance was introduced in 1953 by a Cuban violinist called Enrique Jorrín. This dance has split fourth beat. A person begins the dance by starting with the second beat. Enrique also introduced this dance style in London, and it is currently referred to as the ballroom cha-cha (Andrews 7). 3. The rumba music started in Cuba as an integration of many musical practices. Rumba in Cuba is played through both the triple-pulse and the double-pulse structures (Andrews 3). Rumba is rhythmically played using the five-stroke system referred to as clave.

The current types of rumba are; Columbia, yambu and guaguanco. The three rumba types are unique, due to different choreography. 4. Samba refers to a Brazilian dance. The dance style originated in Brazil; however, it has African roots which were influenced through slave trade. The Bahian Samba dance is currently a UNESCO Heritage is Humanity (Andrews 10), and it is mostly played in Rio de Janeiro. The samba is traditionally played by various percussion and guitar types. On 2nd December ever year in Brazil, celebration of the Samba National day is held. 5. Carlos Santana is a Mexican American musician, who was very famous in the 1960s and 1970s.

His Santana band initiated the integration of Latin American music with rock music. He has won numerous music awards; for example 10 Grammy awards (Andrews 15). The guitar lines of Carlos were usually based on the African and Latin rhythms. His popularity in the world music industry was again felt towards the end of the 1990s. 6. The African-Ecuadorian sanjuan is a hybrid music which is very popular in Equador. The music developed through the integration of Indian and Spanish music. 7. The Andean music ensemble is currently a music type with global audience because; native sounds of the music has been continuously mixed with music form applicable to modern and middle class Europeans. 8. Peruvian wayno is a popular type of Andean music common in Peru, Chile and Argentina.

It is performed by various ethic groups, for example the Quechua and the Aymara societies. Its superior character is that it combines traditional rural music with urban popular music. 9. The Afro Peruvian lyrics illustrates that it relates closely to the American blues music type. The music type evolved for an Angolan dance; the West African slaves introduced the music in Brazil. The music type shows a mix of the African and Spanish rhythms. 10. Traditional Latin American music is currently being revived.

This is because the traditional rhythm is being mixed with rhythms of other genres to give it an appealing effect. Also, the integrated music genre is effective in attracting a global music audience. 11. Latin American music is very distinct because; it is sung in mostly Spanish and Portuguese languages, and it uses syncopation where weak rhythms are accented. Works Cited Andrews, George. Afro-Latin America, 1800–2000. New York: Oxford University Press. 2004. Print.