Extremadura is a region in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
near
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Its folk music can be characterized by a melancholy sound, and Portuguese influences, as well as the predominance of the
zambomba drum (similar to Brazilian
cuica), which is played by pulling on a rope which is inside the drum. There is also a rich repertoire of gaita (local name for a
tabor pipe) music. Popular songs include: de ronda; de bodas; de quintos; de Nochebuena.
Jota
Jota may refer to:
__NOTOC__
* Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet;
* (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet;
* The name of the ...
is also common, here played with triangles, castanets, guitars, tambourines, accordions and zambombas.
There are few
ethnomusicological
Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
recordings of Extremaduran music, with the most influential and well-known being by American researcher
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...
. Lomax went to Spain in 1952-3 to avoid persecution as a
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and found some hostility from Spanish researchers, then in a period of great political upheaval. Lomax and his assistant, Jeanette Bell, did much of their recording in secret. A research centre for Spanish folk music existed in Extremadura before the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, but details of its collection appear to have been lost.
Extremadura has long been one of the poorest regions in the country. As a result, many of its people left to
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
during the colonial era (1492-1820s), leaving a mark on
Latin music.
Traditional Extremaduran dances include:
*
El baile de la pata
*
El perantón
*
El pindongo
*
El son brincao
*
El son llano
*
La Zajarrona
Discography
* "The Spanish Recordings: Extremadura" (Various artists) (collected by Alam Lomax) (Rounder, 2002)
References
External links
Music of Extremadura
{{Music of Spain
Extremadura
Extremaduran music