New Mexico music ( es, música nuevo mexicana)
is a genre of
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
that originated in the
US state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
, it derives from
Pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
in the 13th century,
and with the
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
of
Hispanos
Hispanos (from es, adj. prefix Hispano- relating to Spain, from la, Hispānus) are Hispanic residents of the United States who are culturally descended from the original Spanish-speaking settlers in the areas which were once part of New Spai ...
during the 16th to 19th centuries in
Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México ( en, Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory (geographic region), territ ...
.
The style went through several changes during
pre-statehood, mostly during the developments of
Mexican folk and
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaqu ...
Western music.
During the early 1900s,
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
and
American folk music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...
began to become incorporated into the genre. The 1950s and 1960s brought the influences of
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and b ...
, and
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...
into New Mexico music. During the 1970s, the music style entered
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
in the
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...
.
The language of the vocals in New Mexico music is usually
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
and
New Mexican Spanish
New Mexican Spanish ( es, español neomexicano, novomexicano) refers to a variety of Spanish spoken in the United States in New Mexico and the southern part of the state of Colorado. It includes a Traditional dialect spoken generally by the H ...
;
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
New Mexican English;
Spanglish
Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is m ...
;
Tiwa;
Hopi
The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the United ...
;
Zuni;
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...
; and/or
Southern Athabaskan languages
Southern Athabaskan (also Apachean) is a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States (including Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah) with two outliers in Oklahoma and Texas. The language is spoken to a ...
.
Origins
The musical history of New Mexico goes back to pre-colonial times, but the sounds that define New Mexico music begin particularly with the
ancestral Puebloans
The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...
. Their music survived in the traditional songs of the
Pueblo people
The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Z ...
with wind instruments such as the
Anasazi flute, as well as the chants and drum beats of the
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...
and
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...
.
In
Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México ( en, Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory (geographic region), territ ...
, the
Hispanos of New Mexico
The Hispanos of New Mexico, also known as Neomexicanos ( es, Neomexicano) or Nuevomexicanos, are Hispanic residents originating in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the US state of New Mexico (''Nuevo México''), south ...
brought
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
liturgical music, the
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
, and the
Spanish guitar, and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
brought with it the traditions of
Mariachi
Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
, and
Ranchera.
After New Mexico became a
territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
, the people of the American frontier brought the traditions of
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...
and
Cajun music
Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tande ...
. This was when the first forms of New Mexico music began to be played.
Western was an adaption of Country and Cajun, accompanied by traditionally Mexican and Native American instruments.
The sound of New Mexico music is distinguished by its bouncy and steady rhythm, while accompanied by instruments common in
Pueblo music
Pueblo music includes the music of the Hopi, Zuni, Taos Pueblo, San Ildefonso, Santo Domingo, and many other Puebloan peoples, and according to Bruno Nettl features one of the most complex Native American musical styles on the continent. Characte ...
,
Western,
Norteño, Apache music,
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...
,
Mariachi
Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
, and
Navajo music. Country and western music lend their drum and/or guitar style sections, while the steadiness of the rhythm owes its origins to the music of the Apache, Navajo, and Pueblo. And the differing rates of that tempo comes from the three common Ranchera rhythm speeds, the polka at 2/4 (ranchera polkeada), the waltz at 3/4 (ranchera valseada), and/or the bolero at 4/4 (bolero ranchero).
After statehood, the music was sung at parties and in homes as traditional folk music, and New Mexico music grew in popularity with native New Mexicans, mostly with the
Pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
,
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...
,
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...
,
Neomexicano
The Hispanos of New Mexico, also known as Neomexicanos ( es, Neomexicano) or Nuevomexicanos, are Hispanic residents originating in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the US state of New Mexico (''Nuevo México''), south ...
s, and the descendants of the
American frontier
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
.
Musicians in the genre received prominent airtime on
KANW,
and international recognition on the syndicated
Val De La O Show.
Other
Southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
artists were prominently featured on the Val de la O Show, performing
Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mex ...
,
Tejano
Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in t ...
,
Texas country, and
Western music, which brought a more general audience to New Mexico music.
Songs and musicians
Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fo ...
has released traditional New Mexico music on the following albums: ''Spanish and Mexican Folk Music of New Mexico'' (1952),
''Spanish Folk Songs of New Mexico'' (1957),
''Music of New Mexico: Native American Traditions'' (1992),
and ''Music of New Mexico: Hispanic Traditions'' (1992).
These albums feature recordings of songs like "Himno del Pueblo de las Montañas de la Sangre de Cristo" (lit. "Hymn of the Pueblo of the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains ( Spanish for " Blood of Christ") are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountains run from Poncha Pass in South- ...
") as performed by Cleofis Vigil and "Pecos Polka" as performed by Gregorio Ruiz and Henry Ortiz, "It's Your Fault That You're Looking for Your Horses All Night" as performed by The Turtle Mountain Singers, "Entriega de Novios" as performed by Felix Ortega, "Welcome Home" by
Sharon Burch, as well as other classic New Mexico folk songs. The albums also include takes on other New Mexico folk music by multiple New Mexico musicians.
John Donald Robb left a significant collection of 3,000 field recordings of Nuevomexicano, Native, and cowboy music, among others, to the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
.
Roots revival style New Mexico music, recorded by musicians like
Antonia Apodaca, Fernando Celicion, Cleofes Vigil, and Cipriano Vigil, is today performed by bands like Lone Piñon.
Country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist
Michael Martin Murphey released an album titled
Land of Enchantment, tracks such as "Land of the Navajo" and "Land of Enchantment" made use of various instruments typically found in New Mexico music. Other country musicians incorporate New Mexico style music into their sound, including Billy Dawson, Daniel Solis, Josh Grider, and
Shawn Brooks.
Neotraditional New Mexico music thrives due to the continued popularity of the late
Al Hurricane
Alberto Nelson Sanchez (July 10, 1936 – October 22, 2017), known professionally as Al Hurricane, was an American singer-songwriter, dubbed "The Godfather" of New Mexico music. He released more than thirty albums, and is best known for his cont ...
and A. Paul Ortega,
along with modern musicians
Al Hurricane, Jr.,
Robert Mirabal,
Darren Cordova,
Lorenzo Antonio,
Sparx, Cuarenta y Cinco, Apache Spirit, Dynette Marie, and Tobias Rene.
These Neotraditional musicians are regularly featured as headlining pop artists during the
New Mexico State Fair
The New Mexico State Fair is an annual state fair held in September at Expo New Mexico (formerly the New Mexico State Fairgrounds) in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. The event features concerts, competitions, rodeos, carnival rides, g ...
.
They are also sought after performers for events such as
Fiestas de Santa Fe,
Fourth of July celebrations, sporting events, and
Balloon Fiesta, as well as at venues such as the
New Mexican casinos.
Radio
* ''New Mexico Spanish Music'' is a radio program on Albuquerque-based public radio station
KANW which plays traditional and modern Spanish-language New Mexico music. The show was started in 1973.
Other relevant shows on KANW include ''Native Music Hours''
and ''Friday's Top 15 at 5:00 Countdown''.
*
KLVO (FM) ("Radio Lobo") is a
Belen-based radio station that broadcasts New Mexico music alongside
Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mex ...
music.
*
KNMM
KNMM (1150 AM and 102.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Sangre de Cristo Broadcasting Co., Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, the station serves the Albuquerque area. The station switched to 60s and 70s classic hits format, ...
broadcasts New Mexico music on Saturdays.
Awards and recognition
* KANW's ''New Mexico Music'', annual album series which has new singles from independent artists in the genre, and ''New Mexico Spanish Super Stars'' which has a mix of older and newer Spanish-language songs. The radio station has other more specific New Mexico music album compilations as well, such as vintage ''Oldies'' and ''Songs of the Native Land'' releases.
* ''Los 15 Grandes de Nuevo México'', annual concert and album series highlighting top-charting songs in the genre. Awards are presented during the concert to the musicians.
Notes
References
{{Country music
16th-century music genres
American styles of music
Country music genres
Culture of the Western United States
Music of New Mexico
Hispanic American music
Mexican styles of music
Southwestern Indian music
Navajo culture
New Mexico culture
Pueblo culture