Pasillo () is an Ecuadorean and Colombian

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

of music popular in the territories that composed the 19th century

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada ( ), also called Viceroyalty of New Granada or Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, was the name given on 27 May 1717 to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in northern South America, corresponding to modern ...

: Born in the Andes during the independence wars, it spread to other areas; especially

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

(where it is considered the national musical style) and, to a lesser extent, the mountainous regions 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 ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Venezuelans refer to this style of music as "''vals''" (Spanish for "Waltz"). Today, it has incorporated more

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an features of classical dance, such as Viennese

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

in Colombia and features of

sanjuanito A Sanjuanito, Sanjuan, or San Juan is a type of Ecuadorian music and dance. Sanjuanitos are an indigenous form of music and folkloric dance associated with the Sierra, Ecuador's mountainous Andean region. It's associated with, but not specific ...

and yaraví in

. As it spread during the

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish language, Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central ...

period, pasillo also absorbed the individual characteristics of isolated

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

. This gives it an eclectic feel; however, the

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

tone Tone may refer to: Visual arts and color-related * Tone (color theory), a mix of tint and shade, in painting and color theory * Tone (color), the lightness or brightness (as well as darkness) of a color * Toning (coin), color change in coins * ...

, and

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of the music differ in each village and indeed between each country. In its waltz, pasillo alters the classically European dance form to accompany

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, and other

string instruments In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

. UNESCO's representative list of the

Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...

includes Pasillo from 2021.

History

Invented in the 19th century, pasillo became closely associated with the

Colombian War of Independence The Colombian War of Independence began on July 20, 1810 when the Junta (Spanish American Independence), Junta de Santa Fe was formed in Bogotá, Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Granad ...

, the

Ecuadorian War of Independence The Ecuadorian War of Independence, part of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early 19th century, was fought from 1809 to 1822 between Spain and several South American armies over control of the ''Real Audiencia of Quito'', a Sp ...

, and Ecuadorian nationalism. Pasillo gained popularity from the recordings of the duet "Ecuador", once performed by Enrique Ibañez Mora and

Nicasio Safadi Nicasio Safadi Reves (Reves is the translation of Rbeiz) (1902 – October 29, 1968 in Guayaquil) was an Ecuadorian musician Born in the Ottoman Empire, he went to Ecuador when he was five years old. He learnt to play the vihuela, the tiple, th ...

. It reached its international apex during the career of

Julio Jaramillo Alfredo Jaramillo Laurido (October 1, 1935 – February 9, 1978) was a notable Ecuadorian singer and recording artist who performed throughout Latin America, achieving great fame for his renditions of boleros, valses, pasillos, tangos, an ...

. Younger generations of Ecuadorians still enjoy pasillos, including new styles sung by

Juan Fernando Velasco Juan Fernando Velasco (born January 17, 1972, in Quito, Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian musician. Biography Juan Fernando Velasco was born January 17, 1972, in Quito, Ecuador. He has had three albums in which some of the most popular songs are Ecuado ...

and

Margarita Lazo A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice (on the rock ...

. Some Ecuadorian pasillos include "Pasional", "Invernal", "Ángel de Luz", "El aguacate", and many others. Pasillo has been a very popular style of music in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

since the 19th century. Famous Colombian pasillos include "Espumas", "Pueblito viejo", "Pescador lucero y río", and "Oropel". Colombian artists, such as Silva y Villalba and Garzon y Collazos, have helped popularize pasillo around the world.

In Ecuador

Ecuadorian pasillo adds the influence of

, so Ecuadorian pasillo is slow and melancholic. Differing from other countries, Ecuadorian pasillo became a national music symbol. According to author Ketty Wong, since the beginning of the 20th century the Ecuadorian pasillo stopped being a festive genre played in saloons and bands became more popular. It had many singles with melancholic texts referring to nostalgic and brokenhearted feelings. However, there are also songs expressing the beauty of Ecuadorian landscapes, the beauty of Ecuadorian women, and the bravery of the Ecuadorian people. In addition, there are songs which reflect admiration for a region or a city, and in some places these have become even more representative than their own city anthems. This is the case of "Guayaquil de mis amores" by

. Wong asserts that in Ecuador, due to its capacity of integrating and producing different topics between different social, ethnic, and generational groups, the Ecuadorian pasillo has become the representation of national music by excellence. During the 1950s the Ecuadorian pasillo went through a transition. Although it was still the national music of Ecuador, with the arrival of the radio it was forced to compete with foreign boleros, tangos, waltzes, guarachas, and other styles of tropical music, such as guaracha, merecumbe, and the Ecuadorian-Colombian cumbia. The continued strength of the Ecuadorian pasillo is in thanks to the performances of great singers such as the duet Luis Alberto Valencia and Gonzalo Benítez, the Montecel brothers, the Mendoza Sangurima sisters, the Mendoza Suasti sisters, Los Coraza and Marco Tulio Hidrobo. Nowadays, Ecuadorian pasillo is a national icon, and younger generations are adding new styles, thus supporting wide-scale distribution.

Composers

Fresia Saavedra Fresia Raquel Saavedra Gómez (8 September 1933 – 18 July 2024) was an Ecuadorian teacher and singer-songwriter. She was well known for her song "El ladrón" and for being politically and culturally active in Guayaquil through her music. In U ...

Carlos Amable Ortiz Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhere ...

Francisco Paredes Herrera Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

Adolfo Mejía Navarro Adolfo may refer to: * Adolfo, São Paulo, a Brazilian municipality * Adolfo (designer) Adolfo Faustino Sardiña (February 15, 1923 – November 27, 2021), professionally known as Adolfo, was a Cuban-born American fashion designer who started out a ...

* Olga Eljuri de Villar *

* José Ignacio Canelos * Enrique Ibáñez Mora * Carlota Jaramillo * Luis Laberto Valencia *

Gonzalo Benitez Gonzalo may refer to: * Gonzalo (name) * Gonzalo, Dominican Republic, a small town * Isla Gonzalo, a subantarctic island operated by the Chilean Navy * Hurricane Gonzalo, 2014 See also * Gonzalez (disambiguation) * Gonzales (disambiguation) * ...

* Tulio Hidrobo *

Julio Baba Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

Enrique Espín Yépez Enrique Espín Yépez (November 19, 1926 – May 21, 1997) was an Ecuadorean composer and violinist. Born in Quito, he moved to Mexico in 1969, where he established himself as a professor of Violin at the National Conservatory of Mexico. He was a ...

Vicente Gómez Gudiño Vicente is a Spanish and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Places *São Vicente, Cape Verde, an i ...

Jacobo Palm Jacobo Palm (28 November 1887 – 1 July 1982) was a Curaçao-born composer. Biography Jacobo José Maria Palm was the grandson of Jan Gerard Palm (1831-1906) who is often referred to as the "father of Curaçao classical music". At the age of sev ...

José Luis Rodríguez Vélez José Luis Rodríguez Vélez (12 March 1915 in Santiago de Veraguas – 21 December 1984 in Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá) was a Panamanian composer, musical director, saxophonist, clarinetist and guitarist. He was the author of dozens of cumbias, bo ...

* Carlos Vieco
German Dario Perez
*

Oriol Rangel José Oriol Rangel Rozo (1916–1977), known as Oriol Rangel, was a Colombian musician and composer. Rangel could play piano, violin, organ, cello, and flute. His soft style on the piano earned him the nickname "The Pianist with the Silken Hands ...

* Luis Antonio Calvo * Luis Henrique Santos Goncalves

Example

''Adoracion'' Text: Genaro Castro Music: Enrique Ibáñez Mora

References

* * * {{Authority control Music of Ecuador Colombian styles of music Music of Venezuela Panamanian styles of music