Guajira (music)

Punto Guajiro (also called Punto Cubano), with its Andalucian origins, has been evolving in Cuba since the 1700s, is the country music from the Western and Central provinces of Cuba. This style began to become popular around the end of the 18th century. Lyrics are always in the form of a décima. The Punto is based on lyrics, rather than melody. The singers are known as poets, not singers, and a distinguishing feature is that the lyrics are often improvised.

Typically, the poets are accompanied by the Bandurria or Laud, Claves and Guiro. As the style evolved Bongos, Tres, Machetes and other instruments were added.

Styles

• Punto Libre - (also called pinareño or vueltabajero) This form comes from the western Provinces (Habana, Matanzas and Pinar del Rio). The meter is always regular (in tempo) and another feature is that the instruments stop playing when the vocal starts singing. There is some light plucking on the laud or the guitar.
• Punto Fijo - (also called Camagüeyano) This form is from the Central Provinces and has even spread to the east. The distinguishing feature is that the accompaniment remains the same during the vocal part. The patterns are always repeating.
• Segadilla - This form is special as the end of the musical phase does not coincide with the end of the vocal phase.

The Guajira

The guajira is a type of Cuban song situated in the canción family of musical genres, usually sung by a single musician accompanying himself on guitar (Orovio 1981:227). It is characterized by alternation of measures in 6/8 and 3/4, whose purpose is to create an effect similar to the música campesina of Cuba. The lyrics of the guajira typically extol the beauty of the Cuban countryside and the lifestyle of the guajiros (Alén 1994:64).

The combination of the guajira with the rhythm of the son produced an offshoot called the "guajira-son."

Popularity

Guajira was refined and popularized by the Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist Guillermo Portabales, whose elegant style has become known as guajira de salón ("salon guajira"). From the 1930s until his untimely death in a traffic accident in Puerto Rico in 1970, Portabales recorded and performed salon guajira throughout North and South America to tremendous popular acclaim.

References

• Alén, Olavo. 1994. De lo Afrocubano a la Salsa. La Habana, Ediciones ARTEX.
• Manuel, Peter. “The Guajira between Cuba and Spain: A Study in Continuity and Change.” Latin American Music Review 25/2, 2004, pp. 137-62.
• Orovio, Helio. 1981. Diccionario de la Música Cubana. La Habana, Editorial Letras Cubanas. ISBN 959-10-0048-0