The güiro () is a
percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
consisting of an open-ended, hollow
gourd
Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...
with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a
ratchet sound.
The güiro is commonly used in Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other forms of Latin American music, and plays a key role in the typical rhythm section of important genres like
son,
trova
''Trova'' is a style of Music of Cuba, Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente Province, Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cu ...
and
salsa. Playing the güiro usually requires both long and short sounds, made by scraping up and down in long or short strokes.
The güiro, like the
maracas, is often played by a singer. It is closely related to the Cuban
guayo, Dominican
güira, and Haitian graj which are made of metal. Other instruments similar to the güiro are the Colombian
guacharaca, the Brazilian
reco-reco, the Cabo Verdean
ferrinho, the
quijada (cow jawbone) and the frottoir (French) or fwotwa (French Creole) (
washboard).
Etymology
In the
Arawakan language
Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient Indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...
, a language of the indigenous people of Latin America and spread throughout the Caribbean spoken by groups such as the
Taíno
The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
, güiro referred to fruit of the
güira and an instrument made from fruit of the güira.
Construction and design
The güiro is a notched, hollowed-out gourd.
Often, the
calabash gourd is used.
The güiro is made by carving parallel circular stripes along the shorter section of the elongated gourd. Today, many güiros are made of wood or fiberglass.
History
The güiro was adapted from an instrument which originated in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. The
Aztec
The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...
s produced an early cousin to the güiro, called the ''omitzicahuastli'', which was created from a small bone with serrated notches and was played in the same manner as the güiro. The
Taíno
The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
people of the Caribbean have been credited with the origins of the güiro.
The Taínos of Cuba and Puerto Rico developed the ''güajey'', a long gourd or animal bone with notches, an antecedent of the modern day güiro.
Use in music
Across Latin America, the Caribbean, and David Bowie's song "''The Man Who Sold the World''" , the güiro can be found in a variety of traditional, folk dance music and used in dance ensembles and religious festivals.
In the Yucatán Peninsula, the güiro is used in two Mayan dances, the
mayapax and the
jarana.
In Cuba, the güiro is used in the genre
danzón
Danzón is the official genre and dance of Cuba.Urfé, Odilio 1965. ''El danzón''. La Habana. It is also an active musical form in USA and Puerto Rico.
Written in time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring set footwork ...
.
In Puerto Rico, the güiro often associated with the music of the
jíbaro and is used in the musical genres of the
plena
Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico.
Origins
The plena genre originated in Barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, around 1900. It was influenced by the bomba style of music. Originally, sung texts were not associated wit ...
, the
seis, and the
danza.
In the Caribbean coast, the güiro was used in traditional, folk dance
cumbia music and is still used in modern cumbia music.
In Panama, the güiro can be found in folk dances such as the
merjorana and cumbia.
Use in classical music
The güiro is used in classical music both to add Latin American flavor, and also purely for its instrumental qualities.
Examples of compositions including a güiro are ''
Uirapuru'' by
Heitor Villa-Lobos (though the score specifies
reco-reco), ''Latin-American Symphonette'' by
Morton Gould and ''
The Rite of Spring
''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...
'' ''(
Le Sacre du printemps'') by
Stravinsky.
[Karl Peinkofer and Fritz Tannigel, Handbook of Percussion Instruments (Mainz, Germany: Schott, 1976), 154.]
Gallery
File:Guiro cubano.jpg, Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n güiro
File:Modern fibreglass guiro.jpeg, Modern fibreglass Cuban güiro
File:Guiro.jpg, Puerto Rican güiro or güícharo
File:Brazilian güiro, or "reco-reco".jpg, Brazilian reco-reco
File:Guiro Latin percussion.jpg, Güiro for children
File:Guiro9.png, Mexican güiro
File:GüiroMDMB.jpg, Peruvian güiro
See also
*
Guacharaca
*
Guayo
*
Güira
*
Music of Latin America
*
Reco-reco
*
Scratcher (instrument)
*'
Under the Boardwalk', an
American rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
song by
The Drifters with a prominent güiro
*'
Gimme Shelter', a song by
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
References
External links
Picture and description of a güiro made by the Taínos
Video demonstrating how to play the güiroby
Bobby Sanabria affiliated with Jazz at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guiro
Central American and Caribbean percussion instruments
Scraped idiophones
Gourd musical instruments
Orchestral percussion instruments
Unpitched percussion instruments
Cuban musical instruments
Panamanian musical instruments
Concert band instruments