Venezuelan Aguinaldo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Aguinaldo It is a genre of Puerto Rican and
Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...
traditional and cultural music, popular in several
Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...
countries., based on Spanish
Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...
s or
villancicos The ''villancico'' (Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, Ped ...
which is traditionally sung on Christmas itself or during the
holiday season The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...
. Aguinaldo music is often performed by ''parrandas'' - a casual group of people, often family or friends, who merrily go from house to house taking along their singing. The instruments used are the
cuatro Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including: ** Cuatro (Venezuela) ** Puerto Rican cuatro * Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...
, maracas and drums. Some popular aguinaldos are Burrito Sabanero (Venezuela), El Asalto (Puerto Rico), Feliz Navidad (Puerto Rico), and De la Montaña Venimos (Puerto Rico).


Venezuelan aguinaldo

In
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
, ''aguinaldo'' is a genre of
Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...
and generally have six verses. Played by "parranderos" or "aguinalderos" that announce their arrival in song and seek to gain entry to the community houses to relate the story of the birth of Christ, and to share in the joy of the message of Peace on Earth and to all People of Good Will. Aguinaldos are played with typical instruments such as the
cuatro Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including: ** Cuatro (Venezuela) ** Puerto Rican cuatro * Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...
(a small, four-string guitar), furruco, and
maracas A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...
. Other instruments often used are
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
,
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
,
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
,
bandol Bandol (; ) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The region, located near the coast ...
, caja (a percussive box instrument), and
marímbula The marímbula () is a plucked box musical instrument of the Caribbean. In Cuba it is common in the changüí genre, as well as old styles of son. In Mexico, where it is known as marimbol is played in son jarocho; in the Dominican Republic, ...
(an Afro-Venezuelan instrument). In exchange for the entertainment, "parranderos" are traditionally given food and drink:
hallaca Hallaca (, ) is a traditional Venezuelan dish. Its origin is indigenous, but raisins, capers, olives, and sometimes bits of bacon were added in the 16th Century and after by settlers from the Iberian peninsula. Hallaca consists of corn dough stu ...
s,
panettone Panettone is an Italian type of sweet bread and fruitcake, originally from Milan, Italy, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe, as well as in South America, Eritrea, Australia, ...
,
rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...
and "Ponche Crema" (a form of alcoholic
eggnog Eggnog (), historically also known as a milk punch or an egg milk punch when alcoholic beverages are added, is a rich, chilled, added sugar, sweetened, dairy-based sweetened beverage, beverage traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolk ...
). Aguinaldos are also played at Christmas church celebrations. Nearly 50 years later, “El Burrito de Belén” remains a yuletide favorite, cherished in Latin communities worldwide — and beyond, into the Anglo market of the United States. For instance, Billboard magazine included the tune in its 2022 list of the Top 100 holiday songs of all time.


Puerto Rican aguinaldo

In
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, the ''aguinaldo'' is a musical gift offered during the
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
season and is a tradition inherited from the island's Spanish colonizers. As a musical gift, aguinaldos are mostly played by "parranderos" or "trullas" during the Christmas holidays. While , showing up at a residence late at night, with a group of
Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...
ers, is a practice that is slowly being lost in Puerto Rico, a Puerto Rican album debuted in the top 10 Billboard Tropical Albums in December 2019. Originally, ''aguinaldos'' were "
villancicos The ''villancico'' (Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, Ped ...
" with strong religious connotations but soon evolved to " coplas" (quartets) and "decimas" (ten-verses compositions) about all kinds of everyday topics. Aguinaldos were played with typical instruments such as the
bordonúa The ''bordonua'' (bordonúa) is a large, deep body (sound-boxes are usually deep) bass guitar which is native to Puerto Rico. They are made using several different shapes and sizes. The ''bordonúa'' is the least common of the three stringed ...
, a
tiple A tiple (, literally treble or soprano), is a particular type of guitar, typically with 10 or 12 strings but sometimes fewer, and is built in several distinct regional styles. A tiple player is called a ''tiplista''. The first written mention of ...
, a
cuatro Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including: ** Cuatro (Venezuela) ** Puerto Rican cuatro * Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...
, a carracho or
güiro The güiro () is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound. The güiro is commonly ...
, a
cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell (instrument), bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. ...
,
barriles de bomba The barril de bomba is a traditional drum used in bomba music of Puerto Rico. The ''barriles de bomba'' are built from the wood of rum storage barrels and goatskin, adjusted with tourniquets, screws, cuñas or wedges. At least two drums are requ ...
, an
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
, and
maracas A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...
. With bordonua players becoming more difficult to find, the
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
became a staple accompanying the cuatro. Today, panderos (also known as " pleneras"), brass instruments and whatever makes noise, are used. As a genre, the ''aguinaldo'' is played mostly on the radio on key Christmas holidays in Puerto Rico; the day before Christmas, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, the day before Three Kings Day, and on Three King's Day (January 6). Aguinaldos are also played at Christmas church celebrations. In 1918, Puerto Rican Aguinaldo's and Décimas and other notes, as compiled by American linguist,
John Alden Mason John Alden Mason (January 14, 1885 – November 7, 1967) was an American archaeological anthropologist and linguist. Mason was born in Orland, Indiana, but grew up in Philadelphia's Germantown. He received his undergraduate degree from the Univ ...
, and Aurelio M. Espinosa were published in the
Journal of American Folklore The ''Journal of American Folklore'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Folklore Society. The journal has been published since the society's founding in 1888. Since 2003, this has been published at the University of I ...
.


Philippine aguinaldo

In the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, the word ''aguinaldo'' has come to refer instead to the gift—usually cash or coins—collected by small groups of children that go carolling. A traditional instrument used is a makeshift tambourine made of several ''tansan'' (aluminium
bottle cap A bottle cap or bottle top is a common closure for the top opening of a bottle. A cap is sometimes colorfully decorated with the logo of the brand of contents. Metal caps with plastic backing are used for glass bottles, sometimes wrapped in dec ...
s) strung on some wire. Carollers solicit homeowners with the chant "''Namamasko po!''" (approx. "wassailing!"), and after singing wait to be rewarded with ''aguinaldo''.


Trinidadian aguinaldo

Aguinaldo or Serenal is a music genre used in
Parang Parang is a popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago that was brought to Trinidad and Tobago by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian, Spanish, Mestizo, Pardo, and African heritage, something whic ...
(Parranda) a type of Christmas music that came to
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
from
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. Singers and instrumentalists (collectively known as "parranderos") travel from house to house in the community, often joined by friends and neighbours family, using whatever instruments are to hand. Popular parang instruments include the
cuatro Cuatro, Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the 4, number 4, may refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), a family of Latin American string instruments, including: ** Cuatro (Venezuela) ** Puerto Rican cuatro * Cuatro (TV channel), a Spanish free-to ...
and maracas (locally known as chac-chacs).


See also

*
Music of Puerto Rico The Music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources of Puerto Rico have primarily included Music of Africa, African, Taino Indigenous music, Indigenou ...
*
Venezuelan music Several styles of the traditional music of Venezuela, such as Salsa music, salsa and Venezuelan merengue, merengue, are common to its Caribbean neighbors. Perhaps the most typical Venezuelan music is joropo, a rural form which originated in th ...
*
Trinidadian music The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. ...


References

* ''Atlas de Tradiciones de Venezuela'',
Fundación Bigott Bigott Foundation () is a private institution in Caracas, Venezuela; it is dedicated to "preserving and making known the values of traditional culture". See also * British American Tobacco British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a Briti ...
, 1998.


External links


La Parranda Puertorriquena: The Music, Symbolism, and Cultural Nationalism of Puerto Rico's Christmas Serenading Tradition


{{Music in Spanish Music of Puerto Rico Music of Venezuela Christmas music Christmas traditions Venezuelan folk music