Over the last couple of weeks we’ve been dipping our toes into the waters of World Music. We started off with a taste of Brazil, before moving on to Cuba, and last week we explored the music of Argentina. Today we continue, with a look at the music of Chile.

Chile occupies a long and narrow strip of land on the west coast of South America. The country is about 4,300 kilometers from north to south, 340 kilometers wide at its widest point, and only about 65 kilometers at its most narrow. This unique shape has helped the country create a rich and varied culture, including vibrant music and dance traditions.

Let’s dive in!

Cueca and Traditional Dances

The majority of pre-Colombian Chilean music comes from the Mapchue people. As with many indigenous cultures around the world, their music was mainly used for religious purposes, and is performed with traditional instruments, like the cultrún, cascahuillas, the trutruca, and the torompe. Along with these instruments, some dances with older, ritualistic origins have also survived, like the lepún, the machitún, and the nauillatún.

But perhaps the most enduring and popular of these traditional dances is the country’s national dance, called cueca. Using a rhythm of ¾ or 6/8, the man dances in a circle around his female partner. The dancing pair perform dynamic spins, and provoke each other by swinging a white cloth, called a pañuelo, over their heads. The dancers are accompanied by the rhythmic applause of the audience, as well as a band usually including a singer, guitar, contrabass, accordion, tambourine, harp, Guitarrón Chileno, Bandurria, percussion, fiddle, and piano.

Of course, with such a long country, there’s bound to be differences as you move down the coast. Some examples of the different cuecas found throughout the country include the cueca brava danced in the capital, the cueca campesina performed in rural areas, and the cueca porteña from the city of Valparaíso and tells stories of the hectic life of the harbor.

In the northern parts of Chile, the presence of the military bands the Spanish brought to the area is reflected in the use of the zampoña, the quena, the charango, the guitar, and instruments of military origin such as the bass drum, trumpets, and tubas. In more central regions, instruments like the accordion are played, introduced by German immigrants, along with the guitar, the caja, and the tormento accompany the dances of the central region like the sajuriana (originally an Argentine dance), the refalosa (from Peru), and the sombrerito.. And in the south, especially in the Chiloé Islands, Spanish and huilliche traditions mixed to produce the paricona dance, a variety of the Spanish pericón.

Many Chilean dances are performed outdoors, and practicing dance moves in parks or public places is popular and commonplace. Those looking to practice their tango can head to Valparaíso at the square above the “Ascensor de Reina Victoria” every Tuesday. If jazz is more your style, find your way to a park named “Bustamante” in Santiago, where Swing and Lindy Hop is danced every Sunday.

Contemporary Chilean Music

Popular contemporary music in Chile has enjoyed an influx of influences from around the world. Today, crossover music (mixtures of several different genres) has risen to a place of popularity and importance. The most popular groups combine traditional, original sounds, with rhythms from all over the world.

One such example is Chico Trujillo, who brought out the masses to dance at the Festival del Huaso with “Nueva Cumbia Chilena. Another example is the Chilean band Newen Afrobeat, who combine Nigerian afro-beats with Chilean indifenous music.

Political and social issues are a favourite topic for modern Chilean music. One shining example of this is the internationally known and Grammy nominated singer Ana Tijoux, who performed at the festival La Cumbre for the rights of Chilean women, and against the oppression of the indigenous community.

The band Inti-Illumani is important in the Nueva Canción Chilena movement. Their passionate performances involve leading the audience in a rendition of a song that has become a symbol of opposition against the military dictatorship: “El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido” (People united will never be defeated)!

Violeta Parra

Perhaps the most enduring figure in Chilean contemporary music is Violeta Parra. A composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist, and visual artist, Parra pioneered the Nueva  Canción Chilena, or “The Chilean New Song,” a renewal and reinvention of Chilean folk music that helped expand its popularity and influence to the rest of the world through the 1950s and ‘60s. For this accomplishment, Parra has become known as “the Queen Mother of Latin American folk.”

Yet, despite her role in the revitalization of Chilean music, Parra lived through a difficult time in her country’s history. Radio stations at the time were reluctant to play her music, since her focus on the struggles of the working class was not in the government’s interest. She struggled to keep her projects alive and financed, and ultimately committed suicide on February 5, 1967 after the deterioration of her relationship with her partner.

But her incredible efforts to preserve over 3,000 songs, recipes, proverbs, and other traditions throughout her life would eventually have an impact on Latin American music and culture. Her legacy lives on, especially through the countless recordings of her famous “‘Gracias a la vida’, including covers by artists such as the Argentinian Mercedes Sosa, the American Joan Baez, and the supergroup Artists for Chile who released the song to raise disaster relief funds following the 2010 earthquake. The song came from her last album and has become something of an anthem in the Chilean music scene, and a a celebration of the country’s folkloric roots and rhythms.

Have you always wanted to join in on the beat? Do your kids show an interest in learning to play music? Either way, there’s a place for you at The Music Studio! Our professional instructors offer a wide range of musical programs for all ages. So whether you’re looking for a new instructor, hoping to pick up where you left off, or are on the hunt for someone to help get you or your little ones started, we’ve got a program for you!

Check out all our classes, lessons, and programs, all now available online as well, and sign up today! It’s never too early or too late to start a life filled with music!