Aguinaldo It is a genre of

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

traditional and cultural music, popular in several

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

countries., based on Spanish

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

s or

villancicos The ''villancico'' ( Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, P ...

which is traditionally sung on Christmas itself or during the

holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

. Aguinaldo music is often performed by ''parrandas'' - a casual group of people, often family or friends, who merrily go from house to house taking along their singing.the instruments used are four, maracas and drums.one of the aguinaldos popular is burrito sabanero.

Venezuelan aguinaldo

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, ''aguinaldo'' is a genre of

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

and generally have six verses. Played by "parranderos" or "aguinalderos" that announce their arrival in song and seek to gain entry to the community houses to relate the story of the birth of Christ, and to share in the joy of the message of Peace on Earth and to all People of Good Will. Aguinaldos are played with typical instruments such as the

cuatro Cuatro is Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the number four. Cuatro may also refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see Cuatro) and the other from Venezuela (see Cuatro) ...

(a small, four-string guitar), furruco, and

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

. Other instruments often used are

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

bandol Bandol (; oc, Bandòu) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The Bandol wine region, lo ...

, caja (a percussive box instrument), and

marímbula The marímbula () is a plucked box musical instrument of the Caribbean. In Cuba it is common in the changüí genre, as well as old styles of son. In Mexico, where it is known as marimbol is played in son jarocho; in the Dominican Republic, wh ...

(an Afro-Venezuelan instrument). In exchange for the entertainment, "parranderos" are traditionally given food and drink:

hallaca Hallaca (, ; alt. spelling, ''hayaca'' and ''ayaca'') is a traditional dish from Venezuela that looks like a Tamale, tamal, though different in flavour, texture, ingredients and cultural significance. It consists of corn dough stuffed with a ste ...

panettone Panettone (, ; lmo, label= Milanese, panetton ) is an Italian type of sweet bread, and fruitcake, originally from Milan, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe as well as in South ...

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

and "Ponche Crema" (a form of alcoholic

eggnog Eggnog (), historically also known as a milk punch or an egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg white ...

). Aguinaldos are also played at Christmas church celebrations.

Puerto Rican aguinaldo

Phoenix-Musical Instrument Museum-Puerto Rican Güiro

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, the ''aguinaldo'' is a musical gift offered during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

season and is a tradition inherited from the island's Spanish colonizers. As a musical gift, aguinaldos are mostly played by "parranderos" or "trullas" during the Christmas holidays. While , showing up at a residence late at night, with a group of

ers, is a practice that is slowly being lost in Puerto Rico, a Puerto Rican album debuted in the top 10 Billboard Tropical Albums in December 2019. Originally, ''aguinaldos'' were "

" with strong religious connotations but soon evolved to " coplas" (quartets) and "decimas" (ten-verses compositions) about all kinds of everyday topics. Aguinaldos were played with typical instruments such as the

bordonúa The Bordonua (Bordonúa) is a large, deep body (sound-boxes are usually deep) bass guitar which is native to Puerto Rico. They are made using several different shapes and sizes. The Bordonúa is the least common of the three stringed instrum ...

, a

tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a plucked typically 12-string chordophone of the guitar family. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first mention of the tiple comes from musicologist Pablo Minguet e Irol in 1752. Although ma ...

, a

, a carracho or güiro, a

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

barriles de bomba The barril de bomba is a traditional drum used in bomba music of Puerto Rico. The ''barriles de bomba'' are built from the wood of rum storage barrels and goatskin, adjusted with tourniquets, screws, cuñas or wedges. At least two drums are req ...

, an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

, and

. With bordonua players becoming more difficult to find, the

became a staple accompanying the cuatro. Today, panderos (also known as " pleneras"), brass instruments and whatever makes noise, are used. As a genre, the ''aguinaldo'' is played mostly on the radio on key Christmas holidays in Puerto Rico; the day before Christmas and in Christmas, on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, and the day before Three Kings Day and on Three King's Day (January 6). Aguinaldos are also played at Christmas church celebrations.

Philippine aguinaldo

In the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the word ''aguinaldo'' has come to refer instead to the gift—usually cash or coins—collected by small groups of children that go carolling. A traditional instrument used is a makeshift tambourine made of several ''tansan'' (aluminium

bottle cap A bottle cap or bottle top is a closure for the top opening of a bottle. A cap is sometimes colourfully decorated with the logo of the brand of contents. Plastic caps are used for plastic bottles, while metal with plastic backing is used for gl ...

s) strung on some wire. Carollers solicit homeowners with the chant "''Namamasko po!''" (approx. "wassailing!"), and after singing wait to be rewarded with ''aguinaldo''.

Trinidadian aguinaldo

Aguinaldo or Serenal is a music genre used in

Parang Parang is a popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago that was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, Mestizo, Pardo, and African heritage, something which ...

(Parranda) a type of Christmas music that came to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

from

. Singers and instrumentalists (collectively known as "parranderos") travel from house to house in the community, often joined by friends and neighbours family, using whatever instruments are to hand. Popular parang instruments include the

and maracas (locally known as chac-chacs).

References

* ''Atlas de Tradiciones de Venezuela'',

Fundación Bigott Bigott Foundation ( es, link=no, Fundación Bigott) is a private institution in Caracas, Venezuela Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of th ...

, 1998.

External links

La Parranda Puertorriquena: The Music, Symbolism, and Cultural Nationalism of Puerto Rico's Christmas Serenading Tradition

{{Music in Spanish Puerto Rican music Venezuelan music Christmas music Christmas traditions