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Music and Culture of Oaxaca by: Jack Laub

Page history last edited by Mary Lucia 11 years, 11 months ago

How does musical performance contribute, represent, and identify with traditional Oaxacan culture?

 

Everything from Street to Stage 

Studies of Musical Performance within Oaxacan

 



 

Culture

Max, the Rocker: 

picture taken by Jack Laub 

 

 

Topic:

            In Oaxaca I'm studying informal musical performance because I want to find out how these performers became involved in their profession, in order to understand how they contribute or fit into the traditional music scene of Oaxaca. From the city to the Isthmuswhat is the relationship of the musical community between the performer, orchestra, or ensemble? I have delved into the depth of the musical community not only in relation to the music of the globe, but to Mexico itself.As observed in various locations around the Centro, such as Café Kioo, and Nuevo Babel; from stage to street or vice versa, many performers of this busy city are not just playing for money, but for the joy of creating organized sound, I have asked various musician's the broad question, "What does music mean to you as a Oaxaqueño?" and have received a different response from any number of these talented men and women. Throughout my role as a participant observer of the musicalcommunity, I have found that its existence encouragesa breed of communication that occurs not only with its active participants but its audience. Hence, as a player of traditional music of the Appalachia's and Celt's myself, I'm interested in how the music; relates, correlates, and mimic's the  culture it represents. How and what does the tone of "Oaxacan" music, which has so many different faces, represent it's people? How does musical performance contribute, represent, and identify with traditional Oaxacan culture?

Dr. Navarette and the with the Berrellele (Calavana) youth ensemble. picture taken by Jack Laub 

 

Research Plan: 

Exploring the topic included internet research, interviews with: Sergio Navarette, Ruben Luengas Pérez, Victor Robless, Isreal de Tehuantepec and various street performers. Fortunately I was lucky enough to have the aide of Dr. Navarette, P.H.D. Ethnomusicology, as well as the knowledgable Mixteco Señor Pérez, and Zapotec savvy troubadour Robless. Although my research plan was more informal, and I gathered information as I traveled, nonetheless I still received a large amount of information.

 

March 26th: Explore the relationship between movement (dance) and music, whether it be made by the body, voice, or instrumental medium.

 

March 27th: Chat/Jam with Pasotono (Patricia Lopez, mandolin/violin) on the most basic forms of music, the history of Mixteco music, and the evolution of sound, beginning with language and moving to the personification or mimicking of nature.

 

March 28th: San Geronimo deTlacochahuaya: study of the 19th c.e. music, visit to the 18th c.e. organ there. Discussion of influence of classical music on the culture of Oaxaca, especially upon the Catholic church.

 

March 29th/30th: Attending a drumming workshop with drummer of the Alebrijes, Ignacio Carrillo (aka Nacho). Discussion of blending mestizo with African culture. Afro-mestizo rhythms played, and learning of different traditional instruments from la costa chica/isthmus.

 

March 31st: Attending Kafka Orchestra concert in the library on Profirio Diaz. Observing the fusion between classical, jazz and traditional music in Oaxacan culture. Talk afterwords with guitarrist/trombonist, discussing the granfather of the mandolin (the baso-tres) which has triple strings per tone as well as a wonderful sound!

 

April 1: Free day, a walk down Alcala, informal chats with various street performers.

 

April 2: Edgar Serralde (part time student/member of Pasotono), workshop/discussion of Oaxacan's most simplest instruments. Making of occarina's, matraca's, and clay whistles. Discussion of old tradition of creating something from hardly anything.

 

April 3: Discussion with Dr. Navarette and Señor Pérez, about how music and culture are intertwined. Includes how to do recordings in the field and ethnographic research.

 

April 4-7: Trip to Juchitan and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Includes concerts, observation of Semana Santa celebrations, Via Cruz, discussions with Victor Robless, and extreme heat.

 

April 9-10: Trip to Capulalpam, to see the skills developed by young musicians. Discussion of the ever present element of music within culture. The intermingling between music and culture is essential to my research question and final presentation!

 

April 11: Finishing videos/touches for presentation/wiki page.  

 

Music, the Sound of Nature in Oaxaca: 

            By combining a cluster of interviews, videos or recordings, informal conversations and background research on the ever present, music of Oaxaca, I have created a soundscape of music ranging from religious processions during Semana Santa, traditional ensembles and the amazing Zapotec troubadour's of the Isthmus. I have had three interviews with a Redlands College (California) music major and very talented saxophone player, who is studying here in the city, not only as an ethnomusicologist, but as a participant in a concert band which performs in the Zocolo twice a week. It's interesting to get an opinion of an outsider, who is learning about the local music with an open mind! I have also had a talk with a bus performer, and a young girl playing accordion on the street. In order to present this information I will combine not only media, but qualitative observations onto a concise, media packed powerpoint. Before jumping into the topic, I wanted to find out as much as I could about the roots of the musical community in Oaxaca. Enrique Guajiro Lopez, a renowned son musician, describes what music has and what it still means to a typical citizen of the diverse state. "You can't separate a Oaxacan's life from music, it is there at every important event, its not a question of liking or disliking," (2) he states. This statement makes the quantity of opinions on the subject gigantic! To study the music of Oaxaca one needs to study the assimilation of every other genres and instrument(s) into "traditional" indigenous music, which have passed through the state, therefore creating a mix of not only Cuban, American, but also African and European.

 

Jamming with Ignacio Carrillo, Using Afro-Mestizo instruments such as the femur scraper, caja (box), and tambores (conga, and djembe). Picture by Jack Laub.  

 

Background Information:            

            The history of Oaxacan music starts long before the arrival of the conquistadors (Dr. Navarette). The Mezo-American mix of Zapotec's, Mixtecs and Afro-Mexicans of the region all perpetuated a very traditional style of what today is known as folklorico. However, like all music in the state, the mixing of genres was inevitable. The "sones istmeños, the traditional music of the Zapotec Indians who live in Oaxaca," (3) has evolved into the boleros, which are slower epic love songs, or correos played by troubadour's like Robless. Similarly the music of the Mixteco's, love songs and ballads, performed with wooden instruments such as the cuatro, bajo quinto, pan pipes, fiddle, tortoise shell played with deer horns has mixed with the most popular son which arrived from Cuba and Africa. "Oaxacan's lapped up big brass horns, trumpets and drums," (1) with the arrival of big brass military bands in the 18th century. This effected the folk artists who had been performing for a long time. "Songs and marches were rewritten and traditional instruments incorporated to give Oaxacan band music its own distinctive flavor." (1) With large fiesta's already playing a huge part in every day activities of Mexican's, the combination of big brass, and traditional melodies can be heard being practiced in any puebla.

            "Excuse me sir," I politely asked the guitarist after hearing his version of Jose Alfredo Jimenez's ballad El Rey. "What does this song mean to you?" After a brief shrug and a confused look from the performer I rephrased my query, "What does this music mean to your community, your pueblo?" His response was simple, "To me, and my people, this music is our history, our passion." At that moment I took his words as one of a very proud musician, and dropped ten peso's into his open palm. However, when I contemplated this response; it is very similar to the answers I had received from the accordion player on Alcala, the woman in the wheel chair selling CD's every day in Plaza de los Virgenes, and the young marimba players (transporting their heavy wooden xylophone around the Zocolo). This response is one of pride, one of compassion. "For each his own," does not and need not be mentioned in description of the musical community of Oaxaca. There is a lot's of caring, sharing, and collaboration from artist to performer to poet in this city and state.

            Every Tuesday night at a bar/cafe called Nuevo Babel on Profirio Diaz, there is an open mic. When I first was in attendance, I made the assumption that the guitarist on stage, had simply signed up, auditioned with a simple song, and then was allowed to play that night; much like the open mic night's in the United States. However; after attending the Nuevo Babel scene multiple times, I have discovered through two informal interviews with a woman Margaret that the situation is more of, "who you know," rather than, "what you know." When asked to explain further, Margaret stated, "The musician is a friend of not only the manager, but the other musicians." Unfortunately my notes and our interview was cut short as she was asked to come to the stage to recite another poem. The process was viewed before my eyes! Although an expatriate American living in the city, Margaret had been accepted into the community of artists at Nuevo Babel, and therefore was asked to come participate in the open mic, due to her relationships with those on stage. This symbiotic relationship, if you will, is indicative of the connections between the musician's in the Oaxacan community. Even if you don't know another's name, but the place in which they've performed and their style of playing, another musician in the community can connect you to him or her for collaboration.                        

 

From Macedonia Alcala to Enrique Guajiro Lopez, the top composer's and music of Oaxaca would never have come as far as it has without dance. In America, when one attends a classical music or folk/traditional music concert, the pianists sits and as does the audience. There is little dancing in the performance of these respected genre's, but a silent appreciation. In my experience's playing Celtic music in Ireland 's pub's in 2006 on a family vacation, there was little silence and much dancing! This kind of celebration of movement and of rhythm, is something that has been instilled in Oaxacan's from their first day of school. "A Oaxacan knowing how to dance, is like an American saying please and thank you," said our guide in Santa Anna de Valle when I asked him about the Danza de la Pluma. Each July, which significantly marks not only the beginning of the summer but represents the battle's of the indigenous Zapotec's, Mixtecs and Olmec's of the region against the conquistadores led by Hernan Cortez. Originating in the town of Cuilpam, "Martin Cortes celebrated the first baptism of his child," (4) through this dance. "Why is this important, and what does it have to do with music?" I asked our Santa Anna de Valle guide, who I simply referred to as Don. "It's our history, and it reminds us and the children of where we have come from."

           

Assimilation and Adaptation: 

            With a history of being victims of imperialism and the thrusting of new idea's upon an indigenous population, Mexico has been a country under constant scrutiny of Europe, North America and other first world nations. This has changed the music of Mexico dramatically, but has not effected the inner meaning of the song and dance to the Oaxacan. "The guitar among other string and wind instruments" were the first to be adopted, "thus becoming part of the change in mestizo dance and music." (5) Upon the arrival of Spanish missionaries, many natives were converted, however, "in reality Catholicism has been left behind in favor of Indian cultural traditions" (5) inhibiting the revival of the old genres like the corridos or ballads. The indigenous, although scarred from imperialist imposition, were able to assimilate rather than completely play dead. "Rather than give up their own custom's," the Mexican Indians were able to hold onto their roots, "yet were molded by the moral, philosophical and artistic concepts forced

Assimilation in practice! A five piece band of alto and tenor sex with clarinet/bass and snare. Comprised of part of Berrellele ensemble, performing in Jucitan's cemetery, during day of the dead celebrations. Video by Jack Laub.

 

upon them by the Europeans." (5) Without this resilience, the popular Chilenas, Danza de la Pluma, Levama Oaxacaquena, and the Jarabe Ejuteco (6) would not still be practiced today (they are performed with brass or son bands, showing the concepts adopted).  This is apparent in the Isthmus, during the Zapotec celebration of the day of the dead in the cemetery, in which alto-sax, and clarinet where used in the performance of melodies typical to the region.  When talking with Victor Robless, Ruben and Sergio, we brought up the topic of assimilation.  Although the guitar arrived from Spain, well before the Mexican Revolution, Ruben was adamant in stating that, the culture itself adopted the instrument rather than letting the instrument change their musical style.  Like the banjo, which came to Oaxaca from New Orleans during the rising popularity of

 swing and big band jazz in the 1930's, the guitar was used in traditional ensembles.   When conversing with Ignacio Carrillo, percussionist for the Alebrijes and revivalist of Afro-Mestizo rhythms, he emphasized the role of African rhythms in popular genre's such as cumbia and chileño.  Although these rhythms were brought via the European slave ships, the indigenous adopted, changed, and used the beats to their advantage, playing the conga, djembe or berimbaou to add to the sound of popular genre's.

 

Africa's Drum's in Mexican tradition! (Picture Above) Ignacio Carrillo of the Alebrijes, exhibits a friction drum, one of many drums of African origin, adopted by the mestizo's on la costa chica, which houses on of Mexico's only marooned African slave communities.

 

Ethnography: 

            Ethnography's were a huge part of my project. Ethnography is defined as,

"a branch of anthropology dealing with the scientific description of individual cultures."(7)  Through an ethnographic approach, I observed and participated in cultural events such as the processions of Semana Santa in Juchitan, and got face to face contact with the subject.  Direct contact is pivotal in establishing a subject to subject relationship.  As Sergio stated, ethnomusicology, or the study of how culture relates to music and vice versa, cannot be practiced without ethnographic research (which is both qualitative and quantitative).  "Ethnomusicology is the study of seeing society through the looking glass of music and seeing music through the glass of society,"  Navarette stated.  Therefore, by using Ethnography's I was able to observe how this music being performed reflected and was indicative of the culture it was representing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chart Above (Dr. Navarette) explaining the components of a good Ethnography: Actors are the subjects and agents being observed in the cultural event. The Products are the music, instruments used, the repertoire performed, the sound and the material culture.  Finally, the Interactions and Processes is the historical point of view in which subjects interact with each other, while the observed process is being executed.    

 

Music of Semana Santa:  

       When visiting the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Israel took us around on a tour of three churches, in three different neighborhoods.  Each church had its own unique reenactment/informal mass portraying the capture and torture of Jesus Christ the night before his passion.  Israel showed me that on this night, traditionally,  minuetes of the European tradition, and minuetes marches were played.  All the children, including his son of one year seven months (Max), dressed as angel's in white or velvet garb.  This was different than Good Friday and the procession of the Cross, for there were no

Minuete March:  Israel plays a minuete march for us, which is traditionally performed the night of Semana Santa in which all of the children dress up as angels.  

 

music or church bells played that day.  In each church I observed the march of the centurion, or the guard of the prisoner, Jesus. As he marched the sounds of a simple flute melody, intertwined with a pounding bass drum and the dragging of shackles upon a floor were sounded.  Meanwhile, each church had a representation of a Jesus who is already dead, or of a cross adorned with flowers. At one church there was even an entire silent choir who was sitting vigil, all dressed in the black veils of mourning.  The whole experience was very surreal, but the part I enjoyed the best was the playing of traditional minuetes, which had similar aura to the waltz's and marches written by Johann Sebastian Bach! 

 

 

Fusion, the Music of Youth: 

            Even though most of the young people that I've talked to describe the music of Oaxaca as a mix of moderno, rock and roll, hip hop and punk, many are focusing on preserving what their parents and grandparents had grown up listening to. "Banda is and always will be the sound of Oaxaca," Mario, vocalists and percussionists in a jazz-funk fusion group, states. The banda, as he describes, is a group of six or much more stringed instruments such as the guitar, cuatro, trumpet, strings, big brass, and full percussion sets, and is becoming just as flexible, combining techniques from the mariachi, bolero, salsa and candela styles. One may not expect to meet an Israeli flutist, and an English fiddler on the pedestrian walk way playing Celtic and Scottish music, however that has occurred as well! If America is a mixing pot for music and culture, then Oaxaca is an industrial blender; mixing, matching, taking, leaving and collaborating with music from within the state of Oaxaca, from el Norte, Europe, Africa and Cuba to create a delicious and energizing concoction.    

           

Revival of Ancestral Genre's:

            On our trip to the Isthmus as well as on a day trip to Capulalpam, I viewed something that rarely happens in the United States. Through the direction of a maestro, or teacher/leader of an ensemble, wether it be for own personal pride in the revival of traditional music, or a government program to instill musical discipline in the youth, groups of young musicians, and diligent students alike, were trained to play the old styles.  As viewed in the Isthmus in Juchitan, a large group of advanced and beginner students ranging from age 2 (at the youngest) to 47, comprised the Berrellele ensemble.  Berrellele, the zapotec name for the calavana or black bird, is an orchestra of sorts, an ensemble of whistle (made of PVC piping), tambores (drums) made from the skin of a sheep, and a two tone drum made from the shell of tortoise and played with deer antlers.  The revival of the instruments and traditional melodies they produced, thanks to the maestro, was impressive, for the little kids and young adults were quite disciplined.  Similarly, a group of young teenager's from Capulalpam aging from 11 to 15, are involved in a government program, reviving the Marimba tradition, an instrument that came to Oaxaca from Chiapas and Guatemala (Dr. Navarette).  Taking formal lessons four days every month, for three hours a day, the youth were extremely talented and was impressive how much they had learned in their 3 to 4 years of lessons. Although they could not read sheet music, their knowledge of the instrument, taught orally, was unbelievable!  I wanted to include video's of the youth to show that not only are they extremely talented, but to give you a visualization of the revival of the genre's of their ancestors! (Above: The youth Berrellele ensemble of Juchitan.) (Below: The youth Marimba ensemble of Capulalpam.)

 

 

Mimicking the Sounds of Nature:  

       The indigenous of Oaxaca have always had a tradition of mimicking the sounds of Nature. When seeing the performance of the traditional Berrellele ensemble, Dr. Navarette and the maestro both commented on how the sounds of the flute mimicked the sound of the famous black bird, Berrelle or calavana.  Sergio and Ruben both went on to say that not only is this true in the Isthmus but also across Oaxaca, where the Afro-Mestizo's are known to use clay whistles to mimic the growl of a jaguar, or  one stringed matracas to produce a sound similar to a gust of wind.

 

Video Above: The advanced Berrellele ensemble, playing their signature song, Berrellele. During the drum roll transition, the maestro plays a flute solo in which he mimics the sound of the black bird. Take a listen!  

 

Reflection and Discovery:

            From interviews, to background research, and simply listening and asking questions, I have barely scratched the surface of the community of Oaxacan musician's. Wether they be performers on the street or stage, they may do both if they have the desire. Although they belong to different socio-economic classes, the girl in the street who plays accordion, who does so in order to help her mother buy groceries, has the same skill as the man who sings and recites poetry in Nuevo Babel. It's a shame that based on one's birth parents, and their money situation, the musician may or may not be doing performance for a life style.  I learned an incredible amount about the Oaxacan people, and their relation to music.  With open ears, it was impossible to not hear music, wether I was eating in a restaurant, walking down the street, or visiting a family for the quincieñera fiesta of their only daughter.  The highlight of my project was traveling to Capulalpam and Juchitan and taking video's of the youth ensembles.  The kids started playing so early and were so talented that it amazed me! However, my studies were not without challenges.  I had difficulties communicating with professional musicians about theory and structure of each performance.  Somehow the vocabulary was often lost in translation.  As a result of my project, I have less questions and more wonder, and opinions about the diversity of Oaxacan music.  The music of Oaxaca not only represents its people but it defines their relations with the living, dead and nature!      

 

Sources:

 

Not including informal interview's, and pictures/videos these source's are mentioned in the above text. (All pictures and videos are Jack Laub originals).

 

1)

http://www.oaxacainfo.com/oaxaca/

 

2)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaxaca#Food_and_drink

 

3)

http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/latinamerica/musiclat/binni.html

 

 

4)  

http://oaxaca.wikispaces.com/danzadelapluma

 

5)

http://www.tomzap.com/dance.html

 

6)

http://www.olveras.com/GFN/estados/GFN_music-17Oaxaca.html

 

7)

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethnography

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (5)

Mary Lucia said

at 1:30 am on Jan 24, 2012

There are lots of instrument makers in Oaxaca - if that is your interest, we can definitely connect you with resources. Last year in the music class, we spend a lot of time with Ruben, from Pasatono (look for them on youtube), an orchestra from the Mixteca committed to the preservation of traditional music. He is a musician and has an orchestra Pasatono - you can find the on youtube... and he has an amazing collection of instruments as well as an instrument maker himself... so there are lots of possibilities..

aerindunford said

at 11:43 pm on Jan 29, 2012

Hey Jack,
I really appreciate the fact that you are narrowing down your topic by putting it into a question form ... but ... I don't really understand the question that well. I guess my first question is, how will you disgtinguish between indigenous and non-indigenous street vendors? What constitutes indigenous? Also, I'm wondering about what your assumptions might be around the kinds of skills/abilities that indigenous artisans have vs. non-indigenous. Can you give me an example of what kinds of skills you are thinking they might have? Then, as you note at the end, there are SOOO many different kinds of artisans and street vendors, I think it might behove you to pick one sort of art form and focus on this.

Anyway ... I'm with ML too ... I'm sure we can track down a luthear somewhere in the city. There's a music school in front of the place called La Cruz de Piedras (it's like a little plaza between Garcia Vigil and Alcala. I bet that would be a good place to start looking for a luthear.

And, just to make things more confusing, I have another idea that might interest you. I think it's really cool that you're interested in the informal economy of Oaxaca and it would be a great project to look further into it. I am thinking mostly about the people who ride the busses playing music for a few pesos. It would be fun to ride the busses around town, tracking down the lone guitar player, or 3-piece band or panflute players and learning more about their profession and lives. Just a thought!

- A

Jocelyn said

at 6:59 pm on Feb 15, 2012

My question is this:

How does informal musical performance contribute to, change, and fit into the traditional Oaxacan music scene?

-JL

Peter Huntington said

at 2:58 pm on Feb 25, 2012

Jack, what did you think of the instrument, I forget the name unfortunately, that Simon played during Oliver's last class? There sounded like there was some history behind it involving colonization, and I think it embodied a lot of the principles you are talking about.

Ashley Hill said

at 9:47 pm on Apr 8, 2012

I like how you have set up what you have written-- a mix of history, personal story telling of experiences and interviews. I am sure that you are probably going to do this but adding some pictures of the things you are talking about would be really interesting also talking about some of the stuff we discussed in class. at one point you mention how they absorbed instraments but played their songs on them...we talked about this so maybe going into a bit more detail and even talking about traditional zapotec music in this context like we heared victor speak about.
hope this is helpful
Ashley H.

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