Dos Tradiciones
Classes focus on Tierra Caliente the week of July 19-25. Serafín Ibarra, hailed as the heir of legendary Juan Reynoso, will teach both fiddle and tamborita. Also on staff are Jesús Peredo, director of the Tradiciones Music School, and Lindajoy Fenley, founder of Dos Tradiciones, who promoted traditional Mexican music for many years in Mexico. She has taught classes in Mexican musical culture at Santa Rosa Junior College in California.
Tierra Caliente
Michoacán, Guerrero, State of México
The music of Tierra Caliente features complex violin melodies backed up by guitar and a little drum called the tamborita. It is not as well known as other styles such as Mariachi, Huasteco or Jarocho and in fact sounds somewhat classical in the Western sense due to its strong European roots.
While the two distinguishing genres in this style are sones and gustos (both ternary rhythms in 6/8, 3/4 or a combination of both meters), this tradition also includes a wide variety of types of music from waltzes and fox trots to pasodobles and marches. The repertoire, which reached an apex in its development at the beginning of the 20th century, also includes at least one or two overtures.
As Raquel González-Paraiso states in a master’s thesis on the music of Tierra Caliente and Violinist Don Juan Reynoso, “in the Calentano musical tradition, the violin and the voice carry the melody. The guitar provides the chordal fabric, and the tamborita offers the rhythmic drive. Each of these instruments contributes to the rhythmic vitality of the music. The violin is key within the ensemble: it is the soloist in instrumental sones, and shares the melody in alternate fashion with the singing of verses in gustos. Like the Huasteco son, the virtuosic role of the violin, which presents technical challenges to the player, makes this tradition one of the most exciting Mexican traditions in their use of the violin…. The tamborita also plays an important role within the ensemble since it embellishes the dancer’s zapateado rhythm, or reproduces the sound of the zapateado when the son is not danced.”
As its name implies, Tierra Caliente, or the Hotlands, endures high temperatures all year round. While much of Mexico could take this title, it is officially used to designate two specific areas with distinct musical styles. One, the focus of this unit, is defined by the Balsas River Basin which straddles the state line between Guerrero and Michoacán. The region also includes a small part of the state of Mexico. The other, still within Michoacán but across a mountain range and close to Jalisco state, is defined by the Tepacaltepec water system. Music from Tierra Caliente-Tepacaltepec is also known as Big Harp music (música de arpa grande).
Both of the Tierra Caliente areas are economically depressed and have been ignored by governments for many years. However, the National Council on Culture and the Arts (Conaculta) has recently begun to focus on the greater Tierra Caliente region and is developing a program that will stimulate music education and will feature an annual festival.
Instruments:
• Violin The violin is the heart of calentana music and the violinist tends to be the director of the group. While one or two violinists can participate in the same group, it is common to have only one accompanied by two guitarists. In addition to playing the melody, the violinist also launches into intricate adornments of his choosing, thus creating a sort of disciplined improvisation.
• Guitar Today’s calentano groups use one or two guitars to back up the violinist(s). It Spanish, or classical, six-stringed instrument, replaced the original guitarra septima and guitarra panzona that were more common before the 1930s. The Spanish guitar is usually tuned a step down either because of the affect hot weather can have on tightly-tuned strings or because the musicians want easier chord positions or because the player wants a smoother and less piercing timber. The best guitarists excel at obligados or bass lines that can embellish the melody. In some pieces these obligados are clearly indispensable.
•Tamborita The tamborita is a double-headed cylindrical drum that usually measures about 20 centimeters in diameter. The body is made of the root of the parota tree and the rims from cuaulote wood. (Both parota and coaulote are local trees.) The strong lacing – made of rope, leather or cotton – surrounds the drum and can be pulled to tighten or loosen the goat-skin heads. The tamborita player makes a variety of sounds by playing both on the head and on the rim. He also adds variety to the sound by using two different tamborita drum sticks: one with a padded leather head and the other of plain wood. This little drum is unique to the region.
• Guitarra panzona This old-fashioned instrument resembles a round-backed lute. It also has a short fretless fingerboard. According to Juan Reynoso, this instrument is tuned (from the lowest) A, D, two Gs (a double course), B and E. Although this instrument, also known as a “tua”, had fallen out of use in the late 20th century, some revivalist groups are starting to re-incorporate this instrument into the tradition. It has a deep sound that was more necessary in the days before amplification and was used to provide a strong bass line.
