Versatility in the Caribbean Music- Spanish

Hola! Amigos :) Welcome Back!

In the blog we will be exploring versatility in the Spanish speaking aspect of the Caribbean so come on  vamonos .  

To start off we can see versatility in full effect in the musician  Laureano Fuentes Matons. This Cuban composer was born July 3rd 1825 and died September 30th 1898. His skill and diversity can be observed though his many chamber works, sacred pieces, a symphonic poem América, an opera, Seila and several zarzuelas. 

 retrieved from: https://www.ecured.cu/Laureno_Fuentes_Matons

Although this song is sung by a different artist. This song was transcribed by Laurean Fuentes Matons himself, in his book "Las artes en Santiago de Cuba", published 1893

Another way versatility can be observed  is through instruments used in percussions. Gourds that are a very common used for eating is used  as a make shift instrument, like maracas, if that's not diversity I don't know what is. These dried up vegetables produce sounds combined with other instruments to enhance the musical experience. 

 

 retrieved from:https://www.carvedculture.com/blogs/articles/what-is-a-gourd

In this video we can see how these vegetables are used in a creative way. This shows clearly that they can be use for other purposes. 

Can you think another way to use gourds vegetables outside of food or an instrument?

Well that's all folks!!

See you next time ;)

References

Béhague Gerard, Moore Robin, Grove Music Online Cuba, Republic of (Sp. República de Cuba) (2001)

https://ubmoodle.ub.edu.bs/pluginfile.php/397065/mod_resource/content/2/Cuba%20Grove%20Music.pdf

https://peoplepill.com/people/laureano-fuentes/bibliography/ 

https://www.elchago.com/2020/10/05/la-ma-teodora-el-primer-son-de-la-historia-compuesto-en-santiago-de-cuba/

 Versatility in the Caribbean Music- Dutch

Now on to Dutch!

In this blog we will see of some  way to  how versatility works in the Dutch aspect of the Caribbean, more specifically in Aruba.

One musician that we can zoom in to really study this element in is Juan Chabaya Lampe, a known composer. Also known as Padu del Caribe, according to Tour de Force, he had a variety of skills which included singing, writing poems, playing cuarto, mandolin, and clarinet.

Juan Chabaya Lampe retrieved from:https://149363308.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Padu-del-Caribe-feature-image.jpg

 If that isn't versatility I don't know what is

In this video we can all see his pianist skills are in full display. Something that I found very interesting was that he was 90 years old in this video. Shocked! His performance was flawless and his hands are very steady and you can tell that he loves what he does. Now that's talent :) 

Another example that can be used to further expand on versatility is gourd vegetables. These vegetables, more specifically the calabash are very common through out the Dutch Caribbean island. 

I know what you're thinking. How can a vegetable be versatile?

Well did you know that these vegetables are not only used for food. They can be used for containers, utensil and art projects. Due to gourds having hard shells and a cylinder shape it can be used artistically and as house hold item. 

Musical instruments such as maracas can be made from this vegetable.

I know this is a bit lengthy but this video just simply shows the calabash process of becoming art or containers. 

Well that's all folks!

Thank you for your time and see you next time ;)

References 

Gangelhoff, C & Legrand C.  (2019). Le Grand Cathleen  Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean. Retrieved from: https://online.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9789769624900/epubcfi/6/496[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3DTour_deForce_epub_8.16.19-248]!/4[Tour_deForce_epub_8.16.19-248]

https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/ecoph36.htm