Episode #17: Pan-American Highway

This compilation was certainly a labor of love. As a self-professed Latin American enthusiast, I couldn’t believe I’ve come this far without a tribute to a region I’ve traveled extensively and think about so often. So, when my sister-in-law (a proud Peruvian) suggested using the Pan-American Highway as a device to travel through the musical landscape of most of Latin America I could not resist.

The Pan-American Highway is a system of interconnected highways that stretches from Alaska to Argentina. No comprehensive route is officially defined in Canada and the U.S., though several highways in these two countries there are called "Pan-American." This musical journey will focus solely on the twelve Latin American countries in the order which the Carretera Panamericana passes through them. I strove to include either artists and/or musical styles that are representative or synonymous with each country’s musical heritage and, in a way, their national identity. For the most part, I also leaned towards older selections (mostly folk and/or indigenous) in an effort to steer away from including contemporary rock en español.

To kick things off, Los Lobos’ incredibly upbeat take on son jarocho, a traditional musical style of Veracruz, a Mexican state along the Gulf of Mexico, showcases their remarkable fretwork and flailing rhythm. While Maná is one of Mexico’s (and Latin America’s) most popular contemporary acts, I chose to include “Te Solté La Rienda,” a cover song of mariachi godfather, José Alfredo Jiménez, in order to illustrate the importance of one of Mexico’s richest musical traditions that is too often, in most people’s minds, relegated to tacky Mexican restaurants.

Moving on through Guatemala I had to include a song (“Mentirosa”) which incorporates the use of marimbas (a xylophone-type instrument) given that they are regarded as the national instrument. Jursino Cayetano’s (Guatemala) “Balandria” along with Aurelio Martínez’s (Honduras) “Santo Negro,” are two great examples of the Paranda tradition of Garífuna music. Garífuna refers to the ethnic group of African descendants that populate the Caribbean coasts of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize. Garífuna or Paranda music is characterized by drumming styles that reflect its West African roots while incorporating acoustic instrumentation and a hint of Latin and Spanish rhythms. Paranda reached its prominence in the early part of the 20th century and has experienced a rediscovery of sorts in the last few years, thanks in large part to the efforts of Belizean record label Stonetree Records.

Brothers Carlos y Luis Mejía Godoy are probably the most prominent and influential singer-songwriters in Nicaragua. Their anthem “Nicaragua, Nicaraguita” is part of the Nueva Canción (New Song), neo-folk protest movement and is a song of simple, yet fervent, national pride.

Next, Costa Rica’s Walter “Gavitt” Ferguson is one of the most important and ingenious popular songwriters in Costa Rica. His preservation of the calypso tradition, inherited from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Providence Islands and Ciudad Colón, Panamá, beautifully illustrates the significant Caribbean influence on Costa Rica’s eastern coast.

Selections from El Salvador’s Fiebre Amarilla, Panamá’s Papa Brandao Y Su Conjunto Aires Tablenos, and Colombia’s Fruko showcase more of the soulful blend of Latin American, Caribbean, European and indigenous forms of tropical music created in Central America during the fertile decades of the 1960s and 1970s, often referred to as the Golden Era.

Rómulo Caicedo, with his sweet, romantic vocals set to the melodic interplay of accordion, clarinet and brass section, and to the rhythms of maracas, bongos, clave, tumba and cymbals, helped introduce the Caribbean-influenced Colombian cumbia to the international stage.

In Ecuador, one of the most popular styles is pasillo, a genre of indigenous Latin music that originated along the Ecuadorian coast. Pasillo is a derivation of the European waltz, yet it alters the classically European dance form to accompany guitar, mandolin, and other string instruments. Furthermore, its lyrics speak to specific national concerns such as suffering, desperation, lost love and nostalgia. Without a doubt, the most popular artist of this genre is Julio Jaramillo. He is a major cultural icon and his most famous song, 1956’s “Nuestro Juramento” (Our Oath), is a standard in the music collection of any self-respecting Ecuadorian household.

On the other hand, “Recuerdos de Nuestra Tierra” is a product of the Afro-Ecuadorian music from the Chota Valley, referred to as bomba music. This music tends to have a more prominent Spanish, mestizo and indigenous influence compared to the marimba-dominated Afro-Ecuadorian music from the Esmeraldas region. Bomba music can range from a mid-tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars along with the main local percussion instrument called the bomba and accompanied by a guiro and sometimes bombos and bongos.

In Perú, there is also a strong cultural presence of African descendants. One of the most enduring gifts they have provided is Afro-Peruvian music. Featuring elements of Spanish, African and European instrumentation and rhythm, Afro-Peruvian, or criollo, music has only relatively recently garnered global recognition. One reason for Afro-Peruvian music’s increased international attention is the unparalleled music and powerful voice of Chabuca Granda. She is of legendary stature in criollo music and, simply put, has become the voice of Perú. Present-day artists that follow in her footsteps include Susana Baca and Eva Ayllón.

Chile is home to the Nueva Canción movement that began in the Southern Cone in the late 1960s and 1970s. In response to the prevailing right-wing military dictatorships of the time, this movement was characterized by lyrics of social protest and folk stylings paired with popular rock elements and indigenous instrumentation. Victor Jara was one of the most revered artists to emerge from this scene. His stripped down folk songs coupled with politically charged lyrics, make him a pivotal part of the history and development of Chilean music. In fact, in 1973 he was killed by the Pinochet regime after the overthrow of Salvador Allende. Jara has since become a global symbol of music’s transformative power. Like-minded fellow Chileans Inti-Illimani and Mercedes Sosa of Argentina (affectionately known as “La Negra”) were also essential artists of the Nueva Canción movement. They, however, employed more indigenous components to their music in an effort to advance ideas of social equality for minority populations, peace, human rights and other progressive ideals.

Finally, Gustavo Santaolalla is a present-day composer and musician from Argentina who is responsible for composing scores and producing soundtracks for films such as Motorcycle Diaries, Amores Perros, Babel and Brokeback Mountain. On his classic 1998 album, Ronroco, he creates a cycle of original songs in the vein of traditional Argentine music, utilizing folk instruments such as the charango (a 5-stringed small guitar) and the ronroco (a ukulele-like 4-stringed instrument made from an armadillo shell) to create an atmospheric feel and what Tom Moon aptly describes as “what sounds like folk songs from some long vanished culture.”

Sorry this is so long, but I believe the trip is worth it. Give it a listen and enjoy.

Track listing:
1) Flor de Huevo (1:55) – Los Lobos (México)
2) Te Solté La Rienda (4:06) – Maná (México)
3) Mentirosa (3:17) - Lalo y Su Marimba Orquestra Ecos Manzaneros de Guatemala (Guatemala)
4) Balandria (3:58) – Jursino Cayetano (Guatemala)
5) Yo Soy Guanaco (2:54) – Fiebre Amarilla (El Salvador)
6) Santo Negro (4:31) – Aurelio Martinez (Honduras)
7) Nicaragua, Nicaraguita (4:14) - Carlos y Luis Mejía Godoy (Nicaragua)
8) Babylon (5:01) – Walter “Gavitt” Ferguson (Costa Rica)
9) La Murga de Panamá (3:08) - Papa Brandao Y Su Conjunto Aires Tablenos (Panamá)
10) La Luna y El Pescador (3:07) – Romulo Caicedo (Colombia)
11) El Patillero (3:26) – Fruko (Colombia)
12) Recuerdos de Nuestra Tierra (2:54) - Grupo Juventud del Valle del Chota (Ecuador)
13) Nuestro Juramento (3:22) – Julio Jaramillo (Ecuador)
14) Enciendete Candela (2:34) – Roberto Rivas & El Conjunto Gente Morena (Perú)
15) Herida Obscura (1:39) – Chabuca Granda y Óscar Avilés (Perú)
16) Montilla (3:37) – Inti-Illimani (Chile)
17) Deja La Vida Volar (3:26) – Victor Jara (Chile)
18) Chacarera de Las Piedras (2:06) – Mercedes Sosa (Argentina)
19) Way Up (4:06) – Gustavo Santaolalla (Argentina)