From flamenco guitar strums to infectious Latin beats, Spanish music is an intricate tapestry shaped by many influences. This article highlights major genres which characterize Spain’s vibrant culture and history.
Salsa originated in New York during the 1960s and 1970s, merging jazz and Afro-Caribbean influences into an irresistibly danceable rhythm led by piano with three drum sections consisting of bongos, congas and timbales – including Bad Bunny and Karol G as renowned artists.
Corridos
Corridos emerged out of both Spanish ballad tradition and local Mexican song forms, with their strophic, octosyllabic verse and narrative focus drawn from Iberian poetry while Central and Eastern European rhythms such as polka and waltz contributed to creating its musical gait. Early corridos chronicled frontier conflicts, notable crimes, community heroes and political heroes before later the Mexican Revolution brought national recognition of this genre as a means of communicating news and stirring collective memory.
Traditional corridos performers would perform in plazas and markets for tips or to sell broadsheets with lyrics. With digital platforms now at our disposal, new hybrid forms such as “corridos tumbados” have emerged that combine sierreno and norteno instrumentation with trap drums and 808s for global audiences to experience history, love, tragedy through everyday people’s eyes.
Tango
Tango is an art form that encompasses dance, music and poetry – with over one century of history. Originating in Argentina and Uruguay’s Rio de la Plata region and spreading worldwide later as its popularity increased, Tangueros created signature elements which are audibly defined as part of its character: its distinct dotted habanera rhythm; iconic instrumentation and melodic phrasing are just some.
In the 1920s, tango spread beyond neighborhood bars into cabarets, radio programs, and international stages in Paris and New York. Legendary vocalists such as Juan D’Arienzo and Anibal Troilo elevated song-style cancion into something extraordinary while orchestral arrangements became refined through orchestra tango orchestration techniques. Tangueros refined orchestral arranging to perfection.
After its golden age, tango entered a post-golden period during which Astor Piazzolla created nuevo tango: an innovative musical genre which blended classical and jazz influences together into an up-to-date style of playing tango music, leading to more structured dancing as well.