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Why is my booty shaking?
The beautiful thing about la música latina is the way that your booty detaches itself from the rest of your body. La diversidad maravillosa de ritmos comes from the mixing of African, European and Indigenous cultures that occured after Cristóbal Colón (Columbus) got lost and established contact between the continents.
Click en un ritmo to learn more.
Mambo ( The Calendario Mambo)
Bolero ( Vamos Afuera, Tengo Hambre
Vals ( De Colores, Uno Dos Tres)
Ranchera ( Me Gustan los Animales, ¿Dónde Está?)
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Merengue
Merengue is a style of music, popular all over Latin America, that
originated in the Dominican Republic in the 1920s. Merengue songs
typically have a fast beat in a 2/4 time, and are characterized by the
"boom-chick-a" pattern in the percussion. Originally they were played with
just accordion and percussion, but now they have saxophones, piano, bass,
and other instruments. Mister Felipe got his amigo James Porter to play
the rub-board, a percussion instrument from Louisiana, USA, instead of the
traditional güira.
Mambo
Mambo is a music and dance style from the island of Cuba. It started as a
variation of the danzón, based on an African rhythm, and it soon became
popular in the nightclubs of Havana, Cuba, and spread from there to Mexico
and New York City. In the 1950s mambo music and dancing became a mania in
the United States. Mambo bands were typically large, with huge brass
sections; Mister Felipe is delighted to be joined on The Calendario Mambo by Ben
Wright on tuba, John Huxsol on clarinet, and David Costanza on trumpet.
Bolero
A slow rhythm, related to the son, that originated in Cuba in the
late 1800s. Bolero songs typically have beautiful, romantic lyrics?so much
for that in Mister Felipe's songs! Across Latin America, when a bolero
song comes on the radio you can count on older couples to get up and
dance?it is a lovely sight. Justin Dean adds violin to Vamos Afuera, and
David Costanza's trumpet fills out the bridge of Tengo Hambre.
Chachachá
A simplified form of the mambo, chachachá (or cha-cha-cha) was created by
a violinist and band leader from Cuba named Enrique Jorrín in the
mid-1950s. It became popular in the dancehalls of Havana, Cuba and New York and
spread around the world. The name comes from the sound the dancers' feet
make!
Vals
Vals is the same as the English word waltz, a dance beat in 3/4 time?you
can recognize it from its "Oom-pah-pah" pattern. It originated in what is
now southern Germany in the mid-1700s and spread to Latin America through
Mexico, and is well-known in ballroom-dancing circles. De Colores is a
classic folk song, sung in many places en la América Latina. Simón Orona adds
his traditional accordion style, which he learned in the state of
Chihuahua, Mexico, enrich the song. Los pajaritos were recorded in Mister
Felipe's neighbor's trees.
Reggaetón
Reggaetón is perhaps the newest style of Latin music. It originated in
Panamá during the early 1990s and has spread throughout Latin America,
especially to Puerto Rico, and from there on to the United States, Europe,
and Asia. Based mostly in urban communities, it combines Jamaican reggae
and dancehall music with many Latin styles and with North American hiphop,
Part of what makes a song reggaetón are its electronic drum beat going,
"boom ch-boom-chick", and the rapping. Believe it or not, Mister Felipe
loves to rap. David Costanza had a fun time recording the trumpet parts on
this song.
Ranchera
More than just a rhythm, ranchera is a style of music that developed in
Mexico in the 1800s. The ranchera songs on this album are in a polka
rhythm, following a 2/4 "Oom-pah" beat. Polka made its way to Mexico from
Germany.The name comes from the word "rancho", where many of the songs
were originally written, and the music became popular in Mexico after
their Revolution throwing out the aristocratic Europeans. Simón Orona has
played ranchera music on his accordion since before Mister Felipe was
born!
Rock
Rock n' roll, baby! Rock n' roll! It started in the USA in the mid-1900s,
and spread all over the world. There is an incredible wealth of "Rock en
español", ranging from the stellar to the pathetic, including the
Colombian superstar Shakira, the Mexican group Maná, and the Argentinian
Manu Chao, not to mention North American groups like Los Lobos. Gracias to
John Huxsol, who plays the drums on "From A to Zeta", and Omar Rane, who
tears up the electric guitar.
There is so much more to learn! Keep listening and exploring! Mister Felipe is working on some new songs en otros ritmos, such as salsa y cumbia.
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