Afro-Colombian Marimba Music

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part series of Afro-Colombian music and dance. This post showcases a video of marimba music and information about performed by Afro-Colombians.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/05/seven-videos-of-afro-colombian-music.html for Part II of this video. Part II showcases seven Afro-Colombian music and dance videos.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural and aesthetic purposes.

Thanks to those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post as well as the publishers of these posts on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT AFRO-COLOMBIANS
From http://thecitypaperbogota.com/living/all-about-afro-colombia/
"Visitors are often surprised to find out that Colombia is home to one of the world’s largest populations of people of African descent outside of the African continent. The nation celebrates its incredible ethnic diversity this May with African Heritage Month, and Bogotá will host a number of cultural and educational events commemorating the history and culture of the Afro-Colombian population while leading the fight against racism and discrimination...

African Heritage Month, established in Colombia in 2001, hopes to draw attention to an often overlooked history and increase the visibility of the nation’s considerable black population. According to a 2005 census conducted by the National Statistical Department (DANE), approximately one in five Colombians has some African ethnic heritage. About 75 percent of the nation’s population is of mixed or multiple ethnic backgrounds....

Despite the ubiquity of racial diversity, discrimination based on skin color remains a significant concern in Colombia, and many of the country’s poorest cities, neighborhoods and regions are of primarily African descent."...
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Additional excerpts about Afro-Colombian music is found in Part II of this series.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Marimba music and traditional chants from Colombia's South Pacific region



unesco, Uploaded on Nov 5, 2010

UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - 2010
URL: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/00436
Description: Marimba music and traditional chants of Colombia's South Pacific region are the heritage of Afro-Colombian groups in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Cauca and Nariño. Chanting by women and men ''(cantadoras'' and ''chureadores)'' blends with acoustic instruments, handcrafted using local materials: palm-wood Marimbas, wooden and leather bass and hand drums, and bamboo and seed rattles. This music is performed principally during four rituals: ''Arrullo, Currulao, Chigualo'' and ''Alabao.''

''Arrullo'' is a saint worship ritual led by women, who prepare the saints, candles and altars and perform chants accompanied by drums and, on occasion, Marimbas.

The ''Currulao'' (or Marimba Dance) is a festive occasion. Men play the Marimba and perform profane chants while people sing, dance, eat and drink, and recount stories. The ''Chigualo'' is a wake following the death of a young child. The body is covered with flowers and a cappella chants are performed around it. The ''Alabao'' is a wake following the death of an adult, where extremely sad chants are sung, also a cappella.

Musical knowledge of these traditions is passed on orally from generation to generation with younger performers guided by more experienced musicians. With a large proportion of the Afro-Colombian population of the region having moved to urban areas in recent decades, their musical heritage remains an important source of community identity, whether in their home villages or in town.
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This summary was reformatted for this blog post.

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