Guajira (music style)

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The guajira is a Cuban style of music and a form, a palo , of flamenco .

Cuban guajira

The predecessor of the guajira is probably the punto cubano , which originated in the 17th century from music by Andalusian immigrants with Afro-American influences in Cuba. It's rural music - Guajiro s is the Cuban term for farm workers.

While the oldest surviving Cuban guajiras such as El Arroyo Que Murmura by Jorge Ankerman from around 1900 still sound in 6/8 - 3/4 time and are rhythmically close to the guajira of flamenco, the guajira of the 1920s and 1930s, in which the world's most famous guajiras emerged, almost exclusively written in 4/4 time. The rhythm of the Cha-Cha-Cha , which was also created in Cuba in the 1950s, is very similar to the Guajira of the 1930s.

One of the most famous performers of the Cuban guajira is Guillermo Portabales . He wrote the composition El Carretero , which became popular through the interpretation of the Buena Vista Social Club . Guantanamera achieved comparable fame from Joseíto Fernández (1908–1979) from 1928. In the meantime, there are countless “cover versions” of Guajira Guantanamera by well-known artists such as Omara Portuondo , Celia Cruz and La Lupe - to name just a few. More typical Cuban guajiras:

Guajira in flamenco

history

From Cuba, the guajira found its way back to Andalusia in the second half of the 19th century , where it was converted into the formal language of flamenco: It is a so-called Cante de ida y vuelta . One of the first performances took place in January 1860 in the great theater of Jerez .

Well-known vocal interpreters of the Guajira were and are, among others, Juan Breva , El Mochuelo , Niño de la Huerta , La Rubia , La Niña de los Peines , El Canario Chico and Enrique Morente . As a dance they maintain among others Merche Esmeralda , Blanca del Rey and Milagros Mengíbar .

Musical characteristics

Its main meter consists of two groups of three and three groups of two in a 12/8 time, similar to the soleá and bulería , but with different emphasis. The key for the guajira sung is usually E major , while the guajiras for the concert guitar or flamenco guitar are usually in A major . As a rule, the tonic sounds on the groups of three and the dominant sounds on the groups of two.

text

The stanzas of the guajira usually consist of ten eight-syllable lines. Subjects are often Cuba, Cuban women, the typical fruits, Cuban everyday life, but also political issues from Latin America at the end of the 19th century.

An example is given by the following verses that Manuel Escacena sang in 1909:

Me gusta por la mañana

A mí me gusta por la mañana,
después del café bebido,
pasear por Las Habanas
con mi tabaco encendido.
Luego me siento en mi silla,
en mi silla o silletón;
y saco yo un papelón
de esos que llaman diario;
y parezco un millonario
de esos de la población.

Aquí la malanga crece,
rico manjar suculento,
y al rumor del blando viento
la rica caña se mece.
El ajonjolí parece
rica alfombra peregrina;
y el mamey que se reclina
hacia la enramada que toca
es dulce como la boca
de mi angelical Rufina.

In the morning I like it

In the morning I like it
when the coffee is drunk
to walk to Havana and light
the cigar.
Then I'll be fine in my chair, my
chair or my armchair;
and I pull out a piece of paper,
they call it newspaper here;
I resemble the millionaire
as if I were his kind.

The Malanga see I mature,
the delicacy, so juicy rich,
and in the gentle wind noise
weighs sugarcane is rich and wide.
The dress of the sesame field
is like a festive flower carpet.
The mammi apple leans towards
the foliage, which it gently touches;
tender and sweet like her lips:
those of my angel Rufina.

References and comments

  1. ^ Punto cubano. In: Flamencopolis.com. Faustino Núñez, 2011, accessed October 22, 2018 (European Spanish).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Guajiras. In: Flamencopolis.com. Faustino Núñez, 2011, accessed October 22, 2018 (Spanish).
  3. ^ Pablo J. Hernández González: Gente de la tierra, guajiros . In: Cubadebate.cu . May 17, 2014 (Spanish, cubadebate.cu [accessed October 22, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Claudia Rivera (flute), Jorge Ankerman (composer): El arroyo que murmura. Concert video. In: Youtube. September 29, 2014, accessed October 22, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Fundacion Orquesta Sinfonica Chamartin (choir), Jorge Ankerman (composer): El Arroyo que murmura. In: youtube. November 23, 2016, Retrieved October 22, 2018 (Spanish).
  6. ↑ a b Juan Vergillos: Conocer el Flamenco . Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2009, ISBN 978-84-95122-84-1 , p. 74 (Spanish).
  7. ↑ ida y vuelta ( Spanish ) = outward and return journey
  8. ↑ José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume I. Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-70-7 , p. 266 .
  9. ↑ Guajira. In: Flamencoviejo.com. Retrieved October 18, 2018 (European Spanish).
  10. ↑ Miguel Ortiz: Manuel Escacena - Me gusta por la mañana (Guajira). In: Flamencoviejo.com. May 12, 2015, Retrieved October 23, 2018 (European Spanish).
  11. ↑ alfombra peregrina ; literally: pilgrim carpet .