A Musical Trip to Colombia
Colombia is home of some wonderful music and some wonderful dancing to go along with it! Colombia combines both traditional and modern culture into their music, making the expressions very diverse. While many songs have a heavy Spanish influence, a mixture of African, European, and even modern American musical expressions can help to result in this diversity.
Colombia is known as the "the land of the thousand rhythms" because the music has a rich and diverse cultural heritage, with every part of Colombia moving to a different sound; each region has their own rhythm! There are more than 1,025 folk rhythms grouped into 157 different genres.
One song that really has caught my attention is Mala Muer by Paola Jara, which was released in Colombia in 2019. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbIyusl1fos
Mala Muer has a very dramatic sound to it, but is also sung with a lot of passion. Music is not only something to listen to in Colombia, but it is a lifestyle and songs like this are very meaningful. I like this song because the singer seems to take the words to heart and sing them with all her soul, which I really admire because I don't think we get to see that too much here in America.
One musical element found in this song is the instrumental interlude; I love it! A mix of piano, saxophone, and guitar makes a beautiful beginning to the song and leads perfectly into the start of the lyrics sung by Paolo Jara. I listened to a lot of Colombian music before coming across this song and I hadn't heard any opening like this one! I think it's a great way to quickly grab the listener's attention. A second musical element found in this song is something called "dramatic voice" which is a vocal category that I believe describes this singer perfectly, and seems to be common in music originating in Colombia. Paolo Jara was the center of attention in this song and her voice carried the words wonderfully, while keeping with the rhythm of the song itself.
A song that has a bit more modern feel to it is Corazon by the Colombian singer Maluma, featuring Brazilian singer Nego de Borel. The song was released in Colombia on November 3, 2017. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmHrjFIWl6U
I really enjoy not only Corazon, but many songs by the singer Maluma. I have a friend from Venezuela who introduced me to Maluma's music a few years ago and I immediately feel in love with it. I think Maluma puts a more modern twist on the traditional Spanish music, just like in this song. Maluma is proud of his heritage and takes every opportunity to spread his music to new cities across Colombia.
One musical element found in this song is rhythm! This song is like many others of the Colombian culture, with the rhythm immediately causing you to want to jump up and dance. The rhythm of this song is so well executed that it is invisible in a sense. A second musical element of this song is the tempo, which is precisely 198 BPM. This tempo is considered prestissimo because it is so fast! This fast tempo definitely makes the song that much more enjoyable and makes listeners around the world want to dance that much more!
Sources:
Gonzalez, Jennifer. “10 Colombian Music Genres You Need to Know about!” Learn More Than Spanish, Jennifer Gonzalez Https://Learnmorethanspanish.com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2018/11/Spanish-School-Colombia-Logo.png, 4 Aug. 2020, https://learnmorethanspanish.com/blog/10-colombian-music-genres-need-know-about/#:~:text=Colombian music has a rich,land of the thousand rhythms
Valdez, Maria G. “Maluma Proves Language Is No Barrier For Success When You Put in the Work and Remain Humble.” POPSUGAR Latina, 18 Sept. 2019, https://www.popsugar.com/latina/maluma-interview-hispanic-heritage-month-46632960.
“Music of Colombia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Colombia.
Wow this style of music is very upbeat and perfect for dancing. I love all the flashy colors that the people who are performing are wearing. I could imagine this type of music at a parade. I liked reading about the history you provided about Columbia as it is a place I'd love to visit some day. I like how you explained that this type of music is kind of incorporated into their life style because that shows how much they enjoy music and use it to uplift themselves :)
ReplyDeleteI like listening to the song by Paola Jara. You are right, there is a lot of emotion in the song and I can hear the "dramatic voice." My first thought of Columbian music when I started reading your blog was music with a lot of rhythm. This song was slower and more heartfelt. Although I can't understand the language, it seemed she was telling a heartfelt story with the lyrics.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard much Columbian music before, other than the slight background music in some movies. Listening to Paola Jara, I can see how beautiful the culture's music is. I love how the phrases are lengthened at the end on some of them and adding extra heart into the song. The accompanying melody of the instruments mix well with the song too, the song is amazing. The style and performance of the music video is also pretty awesome, usually you don't pay attention to the music video and just listen to the song, and you can see how much effort Paola puts into the video when she sings. Unfortunately, I haven't heard any songs related to these two before! Amazing work!
ReplyDelete