4. La Colorá Country: Cuba/Puerto Rico Language: Spanish Genre on CD: Changui Instruments on CD: Bass, Bongo, Tres

“La Colorá” on AllAroundThisWorld.com

About the song: "La Colora" is a nickname for someone with red hair, though it could also imply a light composition and fiery personality. in the original, Auntie Maria has a grinder and must hurry to get it and grind some yuca/cassava, which is an edible starchy plant that mainly grows in tropical and subtropical aras, to use it for flour or else the yuca will go bad.

Juan Morel Campos, Puerto Rico's most famous composer, is said to have written this song. The liner notes of a Monitor Records recording, “Bomba: Monitor Presents Music of the Caribbean” say Campos "[occupies] a place in the island's legend comparable to Stephen Foster in the U.S.A."

The song originated as a "guaracha," a form of music with bawdy lyrics meant to accompany dances that blended Spanish and African moves. The guaracha originated in Spain and became a staple of Cuban theater groups that toured Puerto Rico in the 1800s, which would play clever guaracha songs between acts of their performances to keep the audience entertained.

The guitar-like instrument you hear in our arrangement is a three-stringed Cuban guitar known as a tres, and the genre, changui, is a distinct form found mainly in Eastern Cuba.

About the genre: Changui is a style of Cuban music that originated in the 19th century in the eastern part of the nation as a form that combines Spanish guitar and African rhythms. Changui is thought to have laid the foundation for the Cuban "son montuno," which in turn was the musical ancestor of modern salsa.

More info: An example of changui More changui

Instrumentation: Tres: image video 1 video 2 Bongó: image video A traditional changui ensemble includes the marimbula and the guiro.

Non-English words in our version on the CD:

Colorá => “Colorá” indicates a redheaded woman Siña Maria => Auntie Maria 4. La Color á Country: Puerto Rico (U.S.) Language: Spanish Genre on CD: Changui

G D7 Colorá, Colorá, Siña Maria, La Colorá

G Colorá, Colorá, make us some of your cassava Eggs LA COLORÁ Country: Cuba Language: Spanish Translation and Arrangement by Jay Sand q = 160 G G D7 D7 # 4 V V V V V V V V & 4 ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ # ™ j 4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ & 4 J J J J J J J œ œ Co lo- rá,- Co lo- rá,- Si ña-Ma ri- a,- Co lo- rá,-

5 D7 D7 G G # V V V V V V V V & ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ # ™ j j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ & J J J J J J œ Co lo- rá,- Co lo- rá,rá,- make us some of your cas sa- va.-

9 G G D7 D7 # V V V V V V V V & ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ # ™ j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ & J J J J J J J J J Co lo- rá,- Co lo- rá,- Si ña- Ma ri- a,- Co lo- rá,-

13 D7 D7 G G # V V V V V V V V ™ & ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ ÓŒ # ™ j j ™ œ œ œ Œ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™ & œ œ œ œ œ J J J J J œ J œ Co lo- rá,- Co lo- rá,rá,- make us some of your cas sa- va.-

Colorá, Colorá Siña Maria, La colorá Colorá, Colorá Make us some of your cassava

(Puerto Rico, Spanish)