Music of Panama

Panama is a Central American country, inhabited mostly by mestizos (persons of mixed African, European and indigenous ancestry). The music of Panama was influenced first by the indigenous populations of Kunas, Teribes, Nobe Bugle and other pre-columbian inhabitants, then by the Spanish, specially Andalucian, who arrives at the beginning of the XVI century, and then by the black population who were brought over, first as slaves from West Africa between the 1500s and the 1700s, and then voluntarily (especially from Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Trinidad, Santa Lucia) to work on the Panama Canal projects between the 1840s and 1914.

With this heritage, Panama has a rich and diverse music history, and important contributions to Cumbia, Saloma, Pasillo, Punto, Tamborito, Mejorana, Bolero, Jazz, Salsa, Reggae, Calypso, Rock and other musical genres.

The Saloma and Mejorana have a distinctive vocal style, which is said to derive from Sevillians. The most important native instruments, used to play these music, is the mejoranera, a five-stringed guitar used to play songs called mejoranas, as well as torrentes, and the rabel, a violin with three strings, used to play cumbias, puntos and pasillos in the central provinces of Coclé,Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas.

Closely related to its more well-known Colombian cousin, Panamanian cumbia, especially amanojá and atravesao styles, are domestically popular. Another important music is punto and the salon dances like pasillo, danza and contradanza. During the XIX and XX century, the Pasillo music was an important music genere.

A folk dance, called tamborito is very popular. Danced by men and women in costumes, the tamborito is led by a cantalante, a female lead singer, who is backed by a clapping chorus (the "estribillo") that sings four-line stanzas of copla (a lyrical form related to Spanish poetry) as well as three drums.

A somewhat similar genre called congo is popular among the black communities of the northern coast in Costa Arriba, which includes Portobelo, a province of Colón; it is distinguished by using upright drums and wild, lascivious movements and lyrics.

Contemporary popular Panama folkloric music is generally called música típica, or pindín, which since the 1940s has included instruments such as the guiro, conga and especially the accordion, among others. Some famous Panamanian artists in this genre are Ulpiano Vergara, Dorindo Cárdenas, Victorio Vergara, Roberto "Papi" Brandao, Nenito Vargas, Yin Carrizo, Nina Campines, Abdiel Núñez, Manuel de Jesús Abrego, and Samy y Sandra Sandoval, just to name a few.

Panama's leading salsa musician, Ruben Blades, has achieved international stardom, after collaborating with other local musicians like Rómulo Castro and Tuira. Other world famous musicians from Panama included Luis Russell, who played with Louie Armstrong in the 1920s, Mauricio Smith, a noted saxophone and flute player who played with Chubby Checker, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Machito and Mongo Santamaría, among others. Victor "Vitin" Paz, a pillar of the Latin jazz trumpet, was a cornerstone of the Fania All Stars for many years.

Meanwhile, Panama has a long history in jazz, beginning with Luis Russell, pianist, composer and director, who travel to New Orleans in 1919 and made important contributions. By the 1940s the port city of Colón boasted at least ten local jazz orchestras. Legends of Jazz in Panama included pianist and composer Victor Boa, Bassist Clarence Martin, Singer Barbara Wilson and French Horn player John "Rubberlegs" McKindo. This Jazz legacy was recently reinvigorated when the US-based Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez organized the first Jazz Festival in January 2004.

Panama also boasts a vibrant history of Calypso and Mento music sung by nationally well-known musicians such as Lord Panama, Delicious, Two-Gun Smokey, Lady Trixie, Lord Kitty, and Lord Cobra and the Pana-Afro sounds.

By the 1960s, local doo-wop groups were evolving into what became known as the Combos Nacionales, five to ten musician groups using electric instruments and incorporating the diverse sounds of jazz, calypso, salsa, vallenato, doo wop, soul and funk. Famous Combos Nacionales included The Silvertones, The Exciters, The Fabulous Festivals, The Beachers, The Soul Fantastics, Los Mozambiques, The Goombays, Los Juveniles, Roberto y su Zafra and Bush y sus Magnificos. By 1970, the dynamic Combos Nacionales sound dominated Panamanian popular music, only winding down toward the late 1970s.

Reggae en Español originated in Panama, known as Spanish Reggae is very popular among youth, and spawned the Spanish language dancehall also known as Reggae en Español (Spanish dancehall) style known as the predecessor to Reggaeton, which originated with such artists as El General, Nando Boom, Renato, Aldo Ranks,Kafu Banton, Jam & Suppose, and Chicho Man, before becoming popular in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and eventually amongst youth in the United States. As of 2006, Panama has become a major source and contributor to reggaeton and, especially as Reggaeton from Panama is on the rise and continues to dominate charts in the United States and broad. Today, the Panama Music Corporation continues and proves to be very successful.

A thriving and very popular Rock en español scene has produced such groups as Los Rabanes, Cage, Os Almirantes, Los 33, Señor Loop, Roba Morena, Filtro Medusa, and Lemmiwinks, Skraped Knees just to name a few.

This list would not be complete without mentioning Pedro Altamiranda and his histrionically popular music spaning several generations and political moments.

Composers

• Vicente Gómez Gudiño, pasillo
• César Alcedo, pasillo
• José Luis Rodríguez Vélez, cumbia, bolero, pasillo
• Ricardo Fábrega, bolero, pasillo
• Eduardo Charpentier, pasillo
• Alberto Galimany, pasillo
• Luis "Lucho" Azcárraga, pindín
• Ruben Blades, salsa
• Lord Panama, calypso
• Nando Boom, reggae
• Luis Russell, jazz, swing
• Danilo Perez, jazz
• Roque Cordero, clasic

Music Director

• Aurelio Escudero
• José Luis Rodríguez Vélez
• Armando Boza
• Luciano Muñóz
• Luis Russell

Singers

• Flex, reggaeton
• Makano, reggaeton
• Barbara Wilson, jazz
• Nina Campines, pindín
• Sandra Sandoval, pindín
• Catalina "Catita" Carrasco, cumbia

Accordion

• Ulpiano Vergara
• Dorindo Cárdenas
• Victorio Vergara
• Yin Carrizo
• Samy Sandoval
• Rogelio "Gelo" Córdoba

Trumpet

• Victor "Vitin" Paz"

Mejoranera

• Juan Andrés Castillo

Organist

• Luis "Lucho" Azcárraga

Guitar

• Emiliano Pardo Tristán

Violin

• Samuel Ramos
• Clímaco Batista

Links

• Panama Radio Stations here you can find all Panamanian radio broadcasters and listen to the music of your choice.
• Music of Panama at Panama1.com Videos and sounds of different national rhythms from Panama.