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The ''payada'' is a folk music tradition native to
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
, southern
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 ...
, and south
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
as part of the
Gaucho culture The Gaucho culture, or Gaúcho culture, is the set of knowledge, arts, tools, food, traditions and customs that have served as a reference to the gaucho. Geographically, in the 18th and 19th centuries it was extended by a region of South Americ ...
and
Gaucho literature Gaucho literature, also known as gauchesco ("gauchoesque") genre was a literary movement purporting to use the language of the gauchos, comparable to the American cowboy, and reflecting their mentality. Although earlier works have been identified a ...
. In
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
it is called ''paya'' and performed by ''
huaso A ''huaso'' () is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the United States, American cowboy, the Mexico, Mexican ''charro'' (and its northern equivalent, the ''vaquero''), the ''gaucho'' of Argentina, Uruguay and Rio Grande Do S ...
s''. It is a performance of improvised ten-line verse called '' décimas'' usually accompanied by guitar. The performer is called a "''payador''", albeit any guitar performer in the region is called by the same name. In performances of two or more ''payadores'' (the "''payada''"), known as ''contrapunto'', they will compete to produce the most eloquent verse, each answering questions posed by the other, often insulting. The durations of these verse duels can be exceedingly long, often many hours, and they end when one ''payador'' fails to respond immediately to his opponent. Musical styles often used in the ''payada'' are the ''cifra'', the ''huella'' and the '' milonga''.


History

The work of Bartolomé Hidalgo (born in
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
in 1788) is considered a precedent of this form of art in the
Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...
. Hidalgo is regarded as the first
gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...
poet. His birthdate, August 24, was established as the "Day of the Payador" in Uruguay. In
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, July 23 was established as the "Day of the Payador" in commemoration of the famous payada where Juan de Nava and
Gabino Ezeiza Gabino Ezeiza, nicknamed ''El Negro Ezeiza''El negro ...
contended. This payada was held in
Paysandú Paysandú () is the capital and most populous city of the Paysandú Department in western Uruguay. Located on the banks of the Uruguay River, it is the country's List of cities in Uruguay, fourth-largest city and a vital cultural and economic hu ...
in 1884, and Ezeiza was proclaimed the winner with the improvisation of his famous ''Saludo a Paysandú''. A recording of this song is the only existing record of Ezeiza's voice. The first registered payador was Simón Méndez (nicknamed ''Guasquita''), a soldier who fought in the
British invasions of the River Plate The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argenti ...
. Both in Argentina and Uruguay, the payada is considered part of the "gauchesca" culture.
Santos Vega Santos Vega was a mythical Argentine gaucho, and invincible '' payador'' (a kind of minstrel that competed in singing competitions resembling dialectic discussions), who was only defeated by the Devil himself, disguised as the ''payador'' ''Juan ...
(to whom writer
Rafael Obligado Rafael Obligado (27 January 1851 – 8 March 1920) was an Argentine poet and playwright. Obligado was the son of María Jacinta Ortiz Urién and Luis Obligado y Saavedra. During the 1880s, he became known as ''el poeta del Paraná'' (the poet of P ...
dedicated his most famous poem) is considered "the" payador par excellence, with successors such as
Gabino Ezeiza Gabino Ezeiza, nicknamed ''El Negro Ezeiza''El negro ...
, José Betinoti, Carlos Molina, Abel Soria, Julio Gallego, Gabino Sosa Benítez, Cayetano Daglio, among others. The payada has also been parodied by the comedy-musical group
Les Luthiers Les Luthiers is an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several other Spanish language, Spanish-speaking countries including Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia, Cuba, Costa Rica an ...
in their ''Payada de la vaca.'' The work of Bartolomé Hidalgo, born in Montevideo in 1788, who is considered the first gaucho poet, can be found as an antecedent to the appearance of this art in the Río de la Plata. The date of his birth (August 24) was established by law as "Payador's Day" in Uruguay. The payada can be traced back to the troubadour traditions of southern Spain, which settlers then brought the music tradition to Latin America. When it reached Argentina, its development was greatly influenced by
Afro-Argentines Afro-Argentines (), also known as Black Argentines (), are Argentines who have predominantly or total Sub-Saharan African ancestry. The Afro-Argentine population is the result of people being brought over during the transatlantic slave trade dur ...
in the late 19th century. During this time, Argentina's government were trying to "whiten" the country by encouraging European migration and marginalizing the black community. Black payadores like Gabino Ezeiza used their music to fight against the discrimination and they sought recognitionfor Afro-Argentines' deep historical contributions. Even though the government were able erase most of Afro-Argentine presence, there are still people in the Americas who practice the music traditions that originated from Afro-Argentines and African ancestry.


See also

*
Gaucho literature Gaucho literature, also known as gauchesco ("gauchoesque") genre was a literary movement purporting to use the language of the gauchos, comparable to the American cowboy, and reflecting their mentality. Although earlier works have been identified a ...
*
Olmué Festival The Olmué Festival () is a music festival that has been held annually during the 3rd week of February in Olmué, Central Chile. The first edition dates back to 1970 being televised for the first time in 1984. Relative to the Viña del Mar Internat ...
*
Martín Fierro ''Martín Fierro'', also known as ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'', is a 2,316-line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'' (1872) and ''La Vuelta de Martín F ...
*
Santos Vega Santos Vega was a mythical Argentine gaucho, and invincible '' payador'' (a kind of minstrel that competed in singing competitions resembling dialectic discussions), who was only defeated by the Devil himself, disguised as the ''payador'' ''Juan ...
*
Guitarrón chileno The Guitarrón Chileno (literally: "large Chilean guitar") is a guitar-shaped plucked string instrument from Chile, with 25, 24 (rarely), or even 26 strings. Its primary contemporary use is as the instrumental accompaniment for the traditional C ...


References


External links

*{{Commonscatinline, Payada Verse contests Poems in Spanish Argentine styles of music Culture of Uruguay Chilean folk music Paraguayan styles of music Uruguayan styles of music Argentine poems Argentine folklore Uruguayan poems Uruguayan folklore Chilean folklore Chilean poetry Gaucho culture