Jonathan Russo Music in World Culture Dr.

Valentine Music Paper

Argentina is one of the largest countries in South America. It is only second in size and population to Brazil. This country has had a very rough history dealing with military dictatorships but all of its struggles have produced some wonderful music that the world enjoys everyday. Argentinas greatest know form of music is the Tango. The tango was first started in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, and was performed among the middle and lower class citizens. Originally developed out of brothels, bars, and ports where many Europeans would come and all of the different musical influences from Europe and from Argentina combined to form Tango. The next form of music in Argentina I would like to discuss is their folk music. Folk music plays a big part in the past history of Argentina because it was an avenue for musicians and the citizens of Argentina to vent their feelings concerning their current state of government, which happened to be a dictatorship. Folk music aided in bringing communities together in these rough times. There are many different types of folk music depending on where one goes in the country but Ill mention a few. First there is Andean music. One would hear Andean folk music in the north section of Argentina. This music is inspired by the spirit of the land and has many wind instruments, percussion, and stringed instruments. Another form of folk music is Chacarera. This is folk dance music accompanied

by a Spanish guitar and a bomba leguero. The last form of folk music Ill mention is Chamame. This music is interesting seeing as how it is accordion based and it came about in the areas of Argentina with high European immigrant levels. Not only does Argentina have a culture rich in music of the past but it has had a surge of pop and rock music. Their rock genre is called Rock Nacional. It began in 1965 when the music of the Beatles began influencing them also. It was about this time that musicians began discovering their past musical roots and applied them to their modern sound. Electronic and pop music are also very popular among people from Argentina.

"Music of Argentina." Wikipedia. 2008. 27 Apr 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Argentina>.