Chula is a dance and music genre which originated in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, dating at least from the eighteenth century.
Portuguese Chula
The traditional Portuguese Chula folkdance has a tempo and rhythm marked by a bass drum, a triangle and cymbals, and is native to the Upper
Douro
The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
. It incorporates singing accompanied by violins, violas, accordions and percussion. The Portuguese Chula was an important influence on the emergence of
samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
rhythms and
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
Gaucho dance in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
Brazilian Chula
Chula in
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
, Brazil, Santo Amaro da Purificação and surrounding areas, is an expression of the African-Brazilian culture. It is a style of
samba
Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...
practiced during dance festivals and involves short steps and cyclical movements typical of samba. The music features strong drum rhythms and call-and-response guitar or viola playing.
The chula, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, takes the form of a challenge, in which only men are allowed to contest. A four-foot wooden stick, commonly called spear, is placed on the floor. At the sound of accordions, the contesting dancers perform different tapping steps back and forth across the spear. After a sequence is performed by a dancer, the following one must at least repeat it, preferably also increasing the complexity of the movements. One will lose the challenge if unable to repeat the movements played by the challenging dancer, or if one touches the spear while dancing. Nowadays, the Chula is performed mostly in folk music festivals and rodeos.
References
External links
Chula folkdance in PortugalSamba Chula in São Braz, Bahia, BrazilChula in Rio Grande do Sul
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18th-century music genres
Portuguese dances
Portuguese styles of music
Brazilian dances
Brazilian styles of music