Vallenato, along with cumbia, is the most popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in northeast Colombia. The name also applies to the people from the city this genre originated: Valledupar (from the place named Valle de Upar - "Valley of Upar"). In 2006 Vallenato and cumbia were added as a category in the Latin Grammy Awards. Vallenato consists of four beats or "airs" that are differentiated through their rhythmic structure and the melody chord structure the accordionist gives it. These are: son, paseo, merengue and puya. The son and the paseo have a 2/4 time and the merengue and the puya a 6/8 time. Son: is played with heavy accentuation and cadence stressed on the low notes of the accordion on its left hand side. It's normally mournful and slow. Paseo: is thought to be an off-shoot of the son. Its speed can vary and today is the most widely recorded air. Merengue: is often confused with a Dominican genre with the same name, probably brought by related African tribal groups. It has a more narrative style and was often used to play décimas, a ten-line format with internal rhymes brought by the Spanish in the 16th century. Puya: its main difference from the merengue is the length of its lyrics. In the last 40 years, accordion players have begun to play it faster and each of the three instruments used in vallenato has a solo. It is considered the oldest of the four "airs", with roots in an ancient Indian dance of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. |
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