Cantaré, Latin American Music
VAMOS AL CARNAVAL
MUSIC FROM THE ANDEAN REGION OF SOUTH AMERICA
INTRODUCTION
During February and March, in the weeks just before Lent, many Latin American countries enjoy a celebration known as Carnaval. The festivities include parades, dancing, wild costumes and colorful masks.
Carnaval celebrations began a very long time ago. The term Carnaval comes from the Latin expression carne vale, which means "farewell to meat", signifying that those were the last days when one could eat meat before the fasting of Lent.
Nowadays, Carnaval is celebrated in many countries around the world. Despite the many regional differences, all of these celebrations include many days of dances, parades, masks, costumes and joyful public celebrations.
In the Americas, each colony incorporated existing Indigenous rituals into their Carnaval celebrations. Later on, with the arrival of the African culture, African rituals, rhythms and instruments were also incorporated into regional Carnaval celebrations.
In some cities of the United States, such as New Orleans and Mobile, they also celebrate Carnaval, except they call it Mardi Gras!
Activity Pages – Vamos al Carnaval Cantaré, Latin American Music www.cantaremusic.com Cantaré, Latin American Music
VAMOS AL CARNAVAL ACTIVITY 1
The song Vamos al Carnaval presented by Cantaré, comes from one of the many Native American traditions of South America. This type of music is played in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Perú and Ecuador. It uses a combination of 3 different types of instruments.
• Percussion instruments – the kind that you play by tapping, shaking or scratching/scraping (drum, shake, scraper)
• Wind instruments – the kind that you play by blowing (flute, saxophone, panpipe)
• String instruments – the type that you play by plucking or strumming, such as with a guitar or a bass, or with a bow, such as with a violin or cello.
In the video of Vamos al Carnaval, you will SEE string and percussion instruments, but you will also HEAR the sound of 2 wind instruments:
Ø The Quena is a type of flute that looks like a recorder made of wood.
Ø The Zampoña is a panpipe made with bamboo reeds of different lengths tied together.
The song Vamos al Carnaval talks about getting ready to sing and dance for Carnaval. Here are the words in Spanish. Let’s see if you can translate the chorus of the song into English! (Hint: Cantar means to sing and Bailar means to dance).
SPANISH ENGLISH
Vamos a cantar
Vamos a bailar
A cantar, a bailar
Vamos al Carnaval
Activity Pages – Vamos al Carnaval Cantaré, Latin American Music www.cantaremusic.com Cantaré, Latin American Music
VAMOS AL CARNAVAL ACTIVITY 2
MATCH THE INSTRUMENTS Match each instrument to the correct definition
ZAMPOÑAS - panpipes made of bamboo 1. reeds of different lengths tied together.
BOMBO - large double-headed drum made 2. from a hollowed tree trunk with patches on both ends made of calf or goat skin, played with two sticks.
CHAJCHAS - rattle made from goat, sheep, 3. or llama hooves dried in the sun, oiled and sewn into a wrist cloth bracelet.
CHARANGO - Small ten-stringed guitar, traditionally made from an armadillo shell. 4.
QUENA - vertical notched reed flute 5. originally made from bones, clay or bamboo. It looks like a recorder.
Activity Pages – Vamos al Carnaval Cantaré, Latin American Music www.cantaremusic.com Cantaré, Latin American Music
VAMOS AL CARNAVAL ACTIVITY 3
MAP OF LATIN AMERICA
The instruments that we showed you are played in the Andean Region of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Perú and Ecuador. Find those countries on the map and circle them. Then find the Capital cities and write them in the chart below.
COUNTRY CAPITAL CITY Argentina Chile Bolivia Perú Ecuador
Activity Pages – Vamos al Carnaval Cantaré, Latin American Music www.cantaremusic.com Cantaré, Latin American Music
VAMOS AL CARNAVAL ACTIVITY 4
Research ONE Mardi Gras tradition from the United States – perhaps in New Orleans or Mobile, Alabama and compare it to TWO Carnaval celebrations in a Latin American city of your choosing.
Ø Hint: When you search online, the word Carnaval will probably be spelled “Carnival”.
City Suggestions:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Ponce, Puerto Rico Oruro, Bolivia Barranquilla, Colombia Montevideo, Uruguay Veracruz, Mexico San Miguel, El Salvador Tablas, Panama Ceibas, Honduras Limon, Costa Rica Granada, Nicaragua La Vega, Dominican Republic
You can use the chart on the next page to record your answers, or make your own chart if you need extra space.
Activity Pages – Vamos al Carnaval Cantaré, Latin American Music www.cantaremusic.com Cantaré, Latin American Music
CARNAVAL CELEBRATIONS COMPONENT CITY 1 CITY 2 CITY 3
Masks and costumes
Parade Elements (people, sights, sounds, colors)
Music
Food
How do these components reflect the culture and history of the cities where they are found?
Activity Pages – Vamos al Carnaval Cantaré, Latin American Music www.cantaremusic.com