Music and Us

 I love new music. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I listened to over 1600 different artists last year, and I am very lightly trying to hit 2000 this year. For this assignment, we were asked to pick 4 cultures, and I picked almost completely randomly. I believe everywhere in the world has good music, so Venezuela, Ukraine, Colombia, and the Philippines are no different. This is a great chance for me to get closer to that 2000 artist goal, and learn about really exciting music.

First is Venezuela in South America. In Venezuela, there are many different traditional styles of music, most of which are tied to a dance. Joropo is one of the many styles with a dance. There are 3 regional distinctions of Joropo including llanero, oriental, and central. These variations can be distinguished by the instruments used, the tempo, outfits, and dancing style. In joropo llanero, musicians play the harp, the cuatro (a 4-stringed plucked chordophone), a drum, and a bandola (another plucked chordophone). Joropo llanero is also the national style of Venezuela, which is why I picked it over the others. Here is a very wonderful video of these adorable kids absolutely tearing it up.

The second country I picked is Ukraine in Eastern Europe. I chose Ukraine because one of my close friends is Ukrainian. Again, not much thought put into choosing the countries. Ukraine’s music is known for diversity and pride in their country. One song that demonstrates this well is Chervona Ruta, a song written in 1968 by a 19 year old student, Volodymyr Ivasiuk. The song follows the Carpathian (The people of the Carpathian Mountains) folk story of the Red Rue. The story is that the red rue turns from yellow to red once a year on the summer solstice, and any girl who finds it will be happy in love. The story of the song, however, is a boy arguing to his girlfriend that their true love is stronger than even the magical red rue, and they don’t need it. Since it was written in 1968, it has been covered hundreds of times, and is one of the most famous Ukrainian songs. Here is a good cover with some interesting instruments and a good translation.

The next country I picked is Colombia in South America. I have always been fairly interested in Colombia, as a couple of my Spanish teachers were from there. I would love to travel there someday, maybe soon! The most influential genre in Colombia is Cumbia. Cumbia is a traditional style with a mix of African, Spanish, Native American, and even German influences. It is usually characterized by a singer telling a story with lots of repetition, a brass and percussion orchestra, sometimes flutes, and a bass. This was especially fun to research because I got to listen to a bunch of very exciting Cumbia music. Here is a wonderful song called El Baile del Pirulino by Los Golden Boys. This very thrilling song is about a guy named Pirulino who goes and gets drunk at a bar. Then, he comes back to the yard and gets bit by a dog, which ruins his only pants (this may be a metaphor, I’m not sure). Please enjoy this very interesting video.

And lastly, I chose the Philippines in Asia. There is no reason that I chose the Philippines, other than the fact that I wanted a country from Asia. Very coincidentally, my friend just recommended me a Filipino song that she really likes, so I will be doing that one. The Philippines were colonized first by the Spanish in the 1500s, and then later by the US in 1899ish. This brought American styles of music like jazz, blues, and other popular Western music to the Philippines. After gaining independence in 1946, they continued growing in a Western music style. The song that my wonderful friend shared, called Pasilyo by SunKissed Lola, is a clear example of this. It was written in 2022 with almost no connections to Filipino traditional music. One connection to anything not American, however, is that the word pasilyo is derived from the Spanish word pasillo, meaning passage or aisle. The song is a very sweet love song in Tagalog about walking down the aisle to your partner, and growing old with them. Here is a nice live performance.

I loved making this blog so much. In my general life, I should really put a little bit of effort into expanding the music I listen to into other cultures. I found that I am very productive while listening to Cumbia, and I will be listening to more. I found out that adorable kids have little dance competitions to very exciting joropo music. I am sure that I could learn so much more if I just spend more time with new music. Thank you for reading along, and I hope you enjoyed all of these songs and styles!