Street Music of Panama

LATIN MUSIC Original Musi c OMSERIESL401 OML401 One striking feature in particular, the com- stringed fiddle, the rabel. The music was Side Two Cum~ias, Tam~oritos an~ Mejoranas mon habit of ending a cumbia's verse on a recorded during the 1960s in the streets 1 Mejorana There are two basic two chord that is only reso lved during the first of various Panamanian towns; its musical basic styles of mejorana. One is a song line of the next verse, may possibly be an authenticity and quality is therefore not form. The other-of which this is an adaptation of a West African technique in matched by its technical standard--or, example-for dancing, is also called a ~mm~~~~ ~f which the final beat of a drum pattern acts unfortunately, its documentary backup. socavon. as first beat in the melody line. Both the JOHN STORM ROBERTS African and Afro-Latin techniques ha ve 2 Cumbia Chorrerana The cumbia of La the same effect: to sweep the dancers Chorrera is said to be the version from onward in a performance that seems to Side One which all the others developed . The accor- ~~~~~~ have no beginning or end. 1 Diablitos of Los Santos. On Corpus dion is an enormously popular instrument This album is a collection of a body of The tamborito, an almost exclusively Christi, masked and costumed diablitos in most parts of Latin America, but this Afro-Latin street music almost entirely Panamanian music/dance, is even more sucios dance to the music of guitars, cas- player achieves a richer sound than most. unknown in the US, despite the fact that strongly African-rooted than the cumbia. tanets and pigs' bladders in the streets of it was a major influence on the New York The tamborito is a voices-and-percussion Los Santos, in a tradition with apparent 3 Cumbia for violin. The sliding bow salsero Willie Colon, and thus on all the form more or less exclusively sung by links to both African dance and the lndo- style of the fiddle playing is a characteristic musicians influenced by Colon. women, though the drummers are usually European morris tradition. of Panamanian cumbia fiddle-playing . By both history and geography, Pan- male . Its African features dominate. Call- ama is special among Latin American and-response vocal patterns are basic . 2 Fruta de Loma la Pava (cumbia) The 4 Par la Pia ya Tu No Vas (Tamborito de countries. The southernmost nation in Lyrics tend to be extremely repetitive and melody of this piece for fiddle, pugador Ponuga) sung by a 1 5 year old girl, Central America, it was - very reluc- often highly cryptic or proverbial with mul- and maraccas is an example of how geog- accompanied by boys aged between eight tantly-a province of Colombia until tilayered meanings. (The old tradition of raphy and history make Panamanian and ten . A children's song which (in its 1903. As you would expect, Panama- political tamboritos, which goes back at music special. It has an extraordinarily surface meaning at least) warns a bird not nian music has very strong ties with its least to 1830, also links them with African strong Caribbean-and even Engl ish- to go to the beach or it will get its tail-feath- southern neighbor, and through it with practice.) The Africanisms in the percus- speaking West Indian-ring to it, espe- ers wet. South America as a whole. The Colom- sion are even more obvious, including the cially in its second section . bian connection supplies much of Pana- role of the lead drum in guiding the chore- 5 Cumbia Recorded in a casa bruja (sor- manian music 's strong Afro-Latin com- ography. Some tamboritos also have 3 Ole Moreno, Ven, T6came la Tam- cerer's hut) in Panama City and played on ponent, since the country borders on the melodic rhythms independent of their per- bora (tamborito) A magnificent example retuned bazaar-bought ukuleles backed most African-influenced area of Colom- cussion pulse, a common W est African of the classic voices-and-percussion style. by maraccas and percussion. bia. But there is also a strong Caribbean trait. link, not only because Panama fringes Nevertheless, the tamborito, like pretty 4 Repicador solo. Played by one 6 Tamborito "Tuna" a version of the the Caribbean on the east, but because a much all New World black music, is a child Nyangote, reputedly the finest street basic tamborito performed on the move large minority of its citizens are English- with two heritages. Its lyrics carry their drummer of the time, in the streets of Chi- through the streets. speakers- descendants of West Indians Africanisms on European-style rhymed tre, Herrera province. who came to work on the building of the couplets, the women's vocal tone is as 7 Vuelvo a Ti Camino Mio (mejorana canal. At the same time, Panama has the much Spanish as African, and the "free 5 Punta Panameno. The punto, origi- mesano) If the tamboritos on this album same kind of strong Spanish-derived rhythm" of many vocals, unconnected to nally a dance in four sections, is reminis- are typical of Afro-Latin music, this sung musical traditions as other Latin-Ameri- the percussive underlay, is a feature of cent of many that moved from the salons mejorana is in the major tradition of Euro- can countries, as well as Amerindian some Spanish as well as much West Afri- to the streets during the 1 9th century (the Latin balladry. It is particularly reminiscent music whose influence on other styles is can music . West Indian quadrille and the Cuban dan- of the declamatory style of a lot of Cuban unclear. The mejorana is another style of obvi- zon are just two other examples). guajiro music. ous mixed ancestry, normally played on a Panamanian Street Music contains small five-string guitar called a mejoranera 6 Gritos Leaving the bars of the Azuero 8 Chaco Indian flute music recorded in examples of the three main street-musics and often a small three-string fiddle, pen insula in the small hours, th e partici- the forests of Darien. of Panama : the cumbia, the tamboritoand which may play a melodic line of a quite pants in this extraordinary group howling the mejorana, as well as a couple of more different rhythm from the accompani- form a circle and bay far into the night (no Recorded by Michel Blaise local styles. Though the cumbia has ment. Perhaps the most striking African- doubt to the considerable distress of the almost achieved the status of national ism in one form of mejorana is the use of neighbors). Th e final passage on this track Issued under license from Vogue PIP, rhythm - from time to time it even sur- duple and triple rhythm played together, a matches an old man with a 1 0-year-old France . faces in the repertory of New York salsa fundamental principle of just about all Afri- boy. groups- and although it early developed a can music. ©®vogue PIP 1985 pol ite salon form, at its most creative it The cumbia, the tamborito and the 7 La Gallina. A Panamanian version of a Jacket design, Dale Moyer belongs in the streets. mejorana are the basic styles of Panama- song known all over Latin America. The street cumbia-like pretty much all nian street music, but this album contains Important Caribbean and Latin American music - is others, among them a street version of the 8 Cumbia Atravesado. This is typical of If you enjoy this album, please don' t let anybody tape creole in spirit, with both European and Euro-Latin punto, and strongly local tradi- classic cumbia playing in that it consists of it! The enormous losses cau sed by illegal copying threaten to drive small companies like Original Music African roots . Street cumbias tend to a tions like the diablitos of the south-central two parts with contrasting rhythms. out of business, making it totally impossible to obtain highly repetitive melodic line typically city of Los Santos and the eery gritos of albums like this. Illicit taping is death to musical played on fiddle or accordion, and a heavy the Azuero peninsula. Widespread or no, 9 Hojita de Lemon (tamborito de/ Norte) choice! If you want a cassette, please buy it from us. emphasis on drum and rattle percussion, and whatever their roots, they add up to a The tamborito de/ norte is one of the two including variations from the lead drum- magnificent body of music. main rhythms, the other being the corrido mer. The percussion makes use of cross- The instruments heard on this album (though both have various other local OR l<;j!NAL c5J (UJ IC- rhythms, and even the cumbia's obvious include the five-string mejoranero; a set of names). 5 Spanish elements are often heavily Afri- three drums-the small two-headed caja, can ized (it is sometimes said to derive the medium one-skinned repicador and R. D 1 · BOX 190 • LASHER ROAD · TIVOLI ·NY· 12583 · USA from an African dance called the cumbe) . the large pugado; and the small three- JACKET MADE IN CANADA .

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