Essay on Latin American Culture

While being in the Music of Latin American course, I have been able to recognize different types of sounds, beats, and vibes within the Latin American culture. The genre is so rich and inviting that it symbolizes unity, confidence, and power. Latin American Music is historic and celebratory and has a wide range of sounds that play into the genre and culture. To give some history, Latin American music is the musical traditions of Mexico, Central America, and the portions of South America and the Caribbean colonized by the Spanish and Portuguese. There are several different styles associated with Latin American Music. Some of the most famous styles are the tango, the Cuban son, the Brazillian samba, salsa, and a host of others.

The instruments used in Latin American music are just as powerful and influential. For example, the Bata drum is one of the primary instruments used in Latin American Music. Its ability to captivate and move a group of people serves as why it’s one of the more important pieces in the culture’s music. I describe the Bata drums as a testament to the power and depth of the religion and culture in which they play an important role. The Bata drums are so monumental within the Latin American culture that they speak in a sense Yoruba language. Language is a way one uses to recite traditional prayers, religious poetry, greetings, announcements, praises for leaders, and even jokes. Yoruba had a system of beliefs that are thousands of years old that have been documented by Unesco that once the Yoruba were enslaved and then brought to America, also brought their culture.

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Part of their culture was the Bata drums and orishas, and it manifested into what we think of Santeria. Yoruba also went to Brazil and emerged from their enslavement in the New World within influences from Europeans and indigenous Native Americans derived into Candomble. In both of these Yoruba-derived traditions, Bata drums were used as a form of veneration and communication with God and divine deities such as Yemaya, Oshun, and Oshoshi just to name a few. Each one has its own set of prayers and its own particular set of movements that are articulated and brought to life through the bata drums. For example, Oshun is the God of war and he has his dance. It’s sacred music and it was hidden and forced into obscurity due to racism and anti-blackness, however, the tradition has survived among the Afro and the Yoruba descendants in the Americas.

This sacred music made its way to popular music through various artists such as Celia Cruz and Chano Pozo, both of which play an important role in Latin American Music. For example, in one of Celia Cruz’s songs “Yemaya,” she mixes sacred prayers into secular music while the bata drummers are playing sacred prayers to the Yoruba deities. Chazo influenced American jazz music which is big within the African American community due to him being Afro-Cuban, while he also introduced bata drumming into African-American music.

One piece from popular culture would be the song, “AguaNile” performed by rapper Fat Joe and Cardi B. For starters, “Aguanile” is a Yoruba word stemming from the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria. The word Aguanile is praising the Yoruba orisha called Ogun, which means the God of war and metal. While listening to the song, “AguaNile” you can hear in the background of how the sample is used as a prayer to Ogun. It all comes back full circle. I find it interesting how popular music artists can use the culture and genre to their benefit but for local performers, the language and style are more than just a performance. It's still described as a sacred form of communication with the practitioners and the divine. On the other hand, people still believe that the Bata drum is a form of communication and a connection with God in both Cuba and Brazil.

According to an article on Grove Music Online, “Bata drummers are noted for their ability to musically encode spoken Yoruba language. They recite salutations of traditional Yoruba deities and proverbs. African slaves carried the tradition of batá drum playing to the Americas.” I wanted to highlight that particular section in the article because I think it's important to note how Bata music and Yoruba language are connected. The way Bata music is so sacred emphasizes its relevance within Latin American culture. Bata mixes in the music of the bata drums and guaguanco as a hybrid mixture.

Shifting gears for a little bit, I wanted to get into the topic of Rumba music. I’ve been talking a lot about how Bata music is sacred and is used for church but Rumba music is the complete opposite. When the people of Cuba come together and celebrate and party, you can guarantee that Rumba music will be played. Rumba music is a mixture of African dance and drum genres, abakuá and yuka, and Spanish coros de clave. From this incredible mixture, you get a very energetic musical form. Nowadays rumba music is used more to describe secular music, music that isn’t for church, a genre that accompanies a specific type of dance. It can also be described as a Cuban version of other countries’ traditional dances. According to another article from Grove Music Online, “The term rumba refers to the popular dance, music, and clave rhythms that emerged in the 19th century in and around Havana, Cuba. Rumbas are danced with a two-step motion (right front–back, left front–back) in duple meter.” This article also gets into the different dance forms from Rumba music like rumba del tiempo de España, yambú, guaguancó, columbia, giribilla, and batarumba.

This article from Grove Music Online breaks down the specific dances and translates their means and their importance within the genre and Latin American Culture. The main difference is that rumba is more of a secular dance style while Bata mixes in the music of the bata drums and guaguanco as a hybrid mixture. Rumba has three main styles: yambu, columbia and guaguanco. These styles have characteristics of dance, rhythm, and singing. The common trend we have is how the culture uses all these different genres and styles of dancing, singing, and playing instruments to communicate with their audience.

Yambu is the oldest style and slowest tempo of Rumba music. What I like about the dancing style for yambu is how it can be a solo piece or performed in pairs. Columbia is the fast and energetic style of Rumba music. The dancing style for Columbia is contrary to yambu, where it is performed by a mane. Last but not least is guaguanco, the most popular and influential rumba style. Guaguanco is similar to the yambu style except for having a faster cadence to it. The dance style for guaguanco is probably my favorite because, in a way, it brings together the yambu and Columbia styles where the men and women dance together in a couple of sexual competition between the two of them.

Rumba music has had an influence and left its mark on many. According to an article on Grove Music Online, “... Cuban national character is acknowledged in the music, which includes elements of jazz, rumba, son, guaguancó and other contemporary styles.” Rumba is considered to be “the quintessential genre of Cuban secular music and dance.” Back in 1985, the Cuban Minister of Culture stated that “rumba without Cuba is not rumba, and Cuba without rumba is not Cuba.” The influence that rumba music has had on Cuba is apparent and to many Cubans, rumba embodies “a whole way of life.”

The influence that Rumba music has had doesn’t stop just there. The “Cha Cha Cha” is a ballroom dance that originated in Cuba back in 1953. I was fortunate to find an article on Grove Music Online that breaks down the dance. It states, “The steps are done in a gliding motion, with a rocking of the hips as in the rumba. The dance was popular in the USA and Europe from the mid-1950s.” I wanted to highlight that particular section within the article because it symbolizes the togetherness within rumba music. All the styles, beats, and instruments have been used to unite people from all over to have a good vibe well together.

Speaking of having a good time, rumba is the type of music that makes you want to move and want to have fun. For example, the successful Rumba music group, Los Munequitos de Matanzas has been cranking out hits for decades for fans to enjoy around the world. Their performances would be so lively and the way they interact with their audience signifies what rumba music is all about. Being able to get the crowd motivated to move and have a good time is what rumba music is all about.

According to a piece written by Jon Pareles for the New York Times, “Many rumba musicians also work as Santeria drummers, switching from congas to consecrated bata drums to perform at Afro-Cuban religious ceremonies.” I included this part of the article within the research paper because it goes to show how versatile Rumba music is. It’s so rich and so melodic that it can blend in with anything. In that same article, he mentions how rumba music can join pop and salsa bands. He states, “... they play traditionalist rumba, they find audiences among Cubans and, increasingly, among tourists who want a taste of old Cuba.” Pareles continues, “The visitors may not realize that rumba, despite the low-tech simplicity of its drums-and-voices lineup, is by no means an archival genre, frozen in the past … The music has continued to evolve.” I think the important thing to note is how rumba music is reaching a new high and changing the lives of others. The impact it has had on so many continues to be known throughout the world.

Seeing how bata music and rumba music have meant so much to the Latin American culture, I think it's important that I also highlight Santeria. Santeria is an African religion of Yoruba origin that developed in Cuba among West African descendants and is influenced by and syncretized with West African descendants. Followers of Santeria use several methods to protect themselves such as spiritual baths or the wearing of sacred Necklaces. They also use many herbs to cleanse or protect, or they may make offerings to their ancestors or Orisha. Members of the Santeria religion worship Orishas, which are powerful but mortal spirits linked with Catholic saints.

There happen to be a few different orishas that the people of Santeria religion worship. Most of these orishas are linked to a Catholic saint. Some of the popular orishas are Ellegua, lord of the crossroads, serving as a liaison between man and the divine. Then we have Yemaya, the spirit of motherhood, which is often connected to the Virgin Mary. Next, there is Babalu Aye, who is known as the Father of the World and is associated with sickness, epidemics, and plagues he also corresponds to the Catholic Saint Lazarus.

The musical style of Santeria is more tribal and processional but it does use bata drums. Santeria doesn’t mimic rumba music really at all. According to an article on Grove Music Online, “Stamping tube of Cuba. Of Yoruba origin, it is used in funerary rites for high-ranking Santería dignitaries to awaken or evoke the spirit of the deceased.” People of the Santeria religion believe in worshipping the deceased by performing the right rituals so these spirits will flourish, giving off energy and helping to accomplish the purpose of living. Worship in the Santeria religion consists of dancing to rhythmic drums; and the use of charms, herbs, symbols, and potions, just to name a few.

I find that interesting because the Santeria religion uses their instruments and music to communicate. Communication through music has been the common denominator throughout this paper. We have seen it with bata music, rumba music, and now santeria. Another article from the Grove Music Online website states that “ It is associated mostly with the batá drum ensemble in Santería ceremonies involving dancing, and participates in other instrumental groups, such as those for the Regla de Palo Monte, Arará, Gangá, Radá, conga, bembé celebrations, and, occasionally, rumba.” I like the idea of celebrating and honoring the deceased the way the people of Santeria religion do.

The holy trinity of Latin American Music: Bata, Rumba, and Santeria, has given me so much insight into the culture and respective genres. I loved how each one of the three topics has been meaningful to the music of Latin America.