''Los Cañoneros'' () is a

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

''cañonero'' group. It was created to emulate the times and songs of

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

in 1920. They made their first public appearance in Mérida, in the Bullfighting Arena of Mérida November 20, 1982. They were an overwhelming success in Caracas, enlivening parties and private shows. Then came the professionalization by recording several albums, performing on radio, and television. They are led by Hely and Ylich Orsini. They toured in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and the Caribbean countries. The "cañonera music" is a musical style born in the capital of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

in the early 20th century. It is the first urban musical expression in this country. It has many similarities with the

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

developed in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The groups that play "cañonera" music include several Venezuelan rhythms like the

Venezuelan merengue Merengue is a musical form extended through all the Caribbean. The first occurrences of merengue in print in Venezuela are from scores of “dance merengue” of the second half of the 19th century. As a dance craze, merengue acquired popularity ...

, a variant of the

pasodoble Pasodoble ( Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often was accompanied by ...

joropo The joropo, better known as Música Llanera, is a musical style resembling the fandango, and an accompanying dance. It originated in the Llanos of Venezuela 300 years ago and it has African, European and Native South American influences. The ...

, and

Venezuelan waltz The Venezuelan waltz is a hall dance and accompanying musical genre that was popularized in 19th-century Venezuela. Federico Villena is considered as the father of the Venezuelan Waltz, which changed the European waltz in form, and by adding Afr ...

. As of 2017, there are only two groups dedicated to preserving the traditional music of Caracas: Los Antaños del Stadium (1946), and Los Cañoneros. One of their most outstanding records is Esta es Caracas (2012), a

featuring some of the most important singers in Venezuela: Cecilia Todd, Horacio Blanco (lead vocal for the ska band Desorden Publico), Ramsés Meneses a.k.a. McKlopedia, Aristides Barbella (), Max Pizzolante,

Francisco Pacheco Francisco Pérez del Río (bap. 3 November 1564 – 27 November 1644), known by his pseudonym Francisco Pacheco, was a Spanish painter, best known as the teacher of Alonso Cano and Diego Velázquez, as well as the latter's father-in-law. His ...

and

Serenata Guayanesa Serenata Guayanesa is a vocal and instrumental quartet that plays typical Music of Venezuela, Venezuelan folk music. It is one of the two best known groups that play this style of music (the other being Un Solo Pueblo). The 18th of November of 2 ...

. Their more successful songs include ''El Besaor'' "The Kisser", ''La Burra'' "The Donkey", ''La Ruperta'' ", ''El Romantón'' and ''Merengueadera". In January 2025 they received the "Glorias Artísticas de Venezuela 2024" award, given by the government to artists with more than 20 years of outstanding career.

References

External links

www.loscanoneros.net
- Official site

- At Sincopa.com (English)
Los Cañoneros
- At MusicaVenezuela.com

Additional sources

Press release of the Ministry of Culture
Spanish)
VenezuelaDemo (PDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Los Canoneros Venezuelan musical groups