It is a popular genre of folk music from Colombia, mainly from its Caribbean region.
Vallenato is known as baʝeˈnato in Spanish. Vallenato has the literal meaning of "born in the valley". Located in Colombia's northeast, this valley is situated between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serrania de Perijá. It also refers to people from the place where this genre started: Valledupar (from the place called Valle de Upar - "Valley of Upar").
In the past, farmers who kept a tradition of Spanish minstrels (juglares in Spanish) used to travel from town to town with their cattle, searching for pastures or selling them at cattle fairs. Because these farmers traveled from town to town and the region lacked rapid communication, they served as bearers of news for their families living in neighboring towns or villages. The only entertainment they experienced during these trips was singing and playing guitars or indigenous gaita flutes, known in Kogi as kuisis, and they sent their messages by singing.
Vallenato music fuses traditional songs, cow-herder songs, and chants from the Greater Magdalena region of Colombia and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta with traditional dance rhythms from the indigenous population. Spanish poetry and musical instruments of European origin are also blended into this music. Through songs that blend realism and fantasy, traditional Vallenato music interprets stories in a nostalgic, joyful, sarcastic, and humorous way.
The traditional instruments that are used in Vallenato music include a small drum played with the hands, a wooden ribbed stick played with a wire comb, and an accordion. Each of the traditional Vallenato rhythms has a unique rhythmic pattern. Tradition Vallenato music is performed at local festivals and the vital role that they play in creating a regional shared identity is crucial.
Tradition Vallenato music is taught in formal academic settings as well. Despite this, there are a number of risks that threaten the element's viability, including the armed conflict in Colombia fueled by drug trafficking. In addition, a new wave of Vallenato music is eroding the social cohesion of traditional music in Vallenato. As a final note, the use of street spaces for Vallenato parrandas is declining, removing an essential medium for intergenerational musical knowledge transfer.
Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata (Vallenato Legend Festival) is held every year at the end of April in the city of Valledupar.
The accordionists, in the past, would sing themselves, but nowadays they are accompanied by singers. The vallenato tradition continues today, people dance to vallenato and also may continue to listen.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/USL/traditional-vallenato-music-of-the-greater-magdalena-region-01095) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallenato) (https://www.colombia.co/en/colombia-culture/music/story-valledupar-home-vallenato/) |Subject=Music |Country=Colombia |Media_URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCsPy_adLb4 }}