HE IS GUATEMALAN

The son is one of the most characteristic rhythms of Guatemala, it is generally composed in a
ternary meter. This type of music is the most representative of the country.

The word son underwent a transformation in meaning from its primitive etymological sense as a
sound, derived from the Latin sonus , to a popular Latin American musical genre with stylistic
variants according to the country or place where it is produced, which it represents nationally.

Son is a generic name applied to a wide and diverse range of vocal and instrumental musical
expressions of a popular or traditional nature, frequently associated with dance, that emerged in
Guatemala during the colonial era (17th to 19th centuries) in which they intervene, in diverse form,
European, indigenous and/or African components and whose perception, structure and specific
characteristics depend on the social context where they are practiced, which includes cultural,
ethnic and musical factors.

The Guatemalan sones are associated with specific population strata, which allows us to
differentiate two main variants:
1. The indigenous sounds , of a traditional nature, current in the indigenous sector (original ethnic
group, with at least twenty culturally differentiated linguistic subgroups), 2. The Ladino sones , of a
popular nature, created by mestizos and transmitted mainly in written form.

Both derive, along with other forms of Latin American popular music, from a common European
trunk rooted in the Hispanic tradition of the Christmas carol, which became present in America,
after the conquest, under the patronage of the Catholic Church. As a consequence, they share
general features, present mainly, although not exclusively, in a large part of Christmas carols, as
they were practiced since the mid-18th century in Guatemala, that is: homophonous texture, framed
in the diatonic tonal system with its modal dichotomy ( major-minor), diatonic melody and
predominant use of compound binary (6/8) and simple ternary (3/8) time signatures with a special
taste for sesquialtera and contratempo rhythmic figures.

1. INDIGENOUS SONS

The formative process of indigenous son involved the incursion of Hispanic music into local
contexts, beliefs and rituals, foreign to it. Indigenous culture became the manifestation of a
dominated, subaltern and marginal social stratum, but not exterminated, becoming a traditional
colonial popular expression, characterized by the survival and continuous reinterpretation of pre-
Hispanic cultural elements assimilated within the Catholic tradition.
As part of these expressions, the indigenous son orally transmitted cultural values and musical
proposals from anonymous authors with interpretative and functional elements different from those
of the imposed culture, shown in presentations made during communal celebrations. These
distinctive elements refer to multiple facets ranging from their ritual function, the attitude of the
performers, the occasions and way in which they are presented, to specific musical aspects, such
as the type of instruments used, their tuning, the construction of phrases, the way of improvising
variations or the duration of the pieces (de Gandarias, 2010: 63).
The music was different from the European one, thus, the indigenous people practiced and
continue to practice these arts not with a desire to show off their skills, or to give themselves or
ourselves pleasure but rather within the esoteric and symbolic sense of oriental dances.

Indigenous resistance and the need for conversion gave rise, from the beginning, to the emergence
and gradual consolidation of mestizo musical expressions that took root as identity elements of the
new social order. Early on, music was used within the strategy of domination, as a pedagogical tool
in the conversion and peaceful conquest of some indigenous peoples. According to Remesal, in
1537 Bartolomé de la Casas, along with other Dominican missionaries, successfully used
evangelizing songs in the local language accompanied by tun, chichines and rattles to dominate the
people of Tezulutlán in the Verapaz region (Remesal, 1932, I: 200).
2. YOU ARE LADINOS

Since their origin, the Guatemalan Ladino sounds were transmitted in handwritten scores made by
the composers and copyists themselves, the authors being, for the most part, identified mestizos.
Its function, form of presentation and transmission, followed European conventions and guidelines
to the letter, despite incorporating its own mestizo musical sense and flavor.

The antecedents of son Ladino are found in villancico, a musical genre of ancient Hispanic
tradition, transplanted and maintained in the New World throughout the colonial period. The term
villancico (diminutive of villain, the village peasant) was applied since the end of the 15th century to
the Spanish musical poetic form consisting of several stanzas or couplets, alternating and framed
by a chorus or proverb.

The Ladino son was initially linked to the use of the liturgy.

The Easter sound

The oldest known Ladino son is the son de pascua, which emerged parallel to the Easter carol
within the church in the mid-18th century.
The Easter Son was born as a small instrumental piece intended for the celebration of the birth of
the Child God (Samayoa, 1843: Fol. 7v).
Their musical parameters followed those of the vernacular Christmas carol from which they were
directly derived. The growing popularity of these sounds began in the second half of the 18th
century, evolving stylistically in the 19th century according to the aesthetic trends of the moment.

The Ladino sones began to be linked to the political and social life of the country in an integral way.
The phenomenon of independence undoubtedly marked the spirit of contemporary musicians. The
search for national identity was reflected not only in the production of patriotic anthems but also in
intimate sounds for family entertainment.

They are gallant sounds, for the traditional ensemble of horns and strings, which were played at
parties in private homes and

possibly at the end of the Concepción novenas, the Guadalupanas and the Easters (Díaz, 1928
II:88), where they undoubtedly called for dance. Structured in a binary way, they are related to the
courtly and elegant character of the baroque dances of the previous century.

The last years of the 19th century witnessed the maximum splendor of son as a mestizo expression
with indigenous roots in the work of Anselmo Sáenz. The sounds were performed by pianists,
chamber groups and complete orchestras. Local composers produced a large number of dance
pieces for the Dance Halls that proliferated at that time. There were mainly elegant pieces of the
polka, chotis, waltz types, but also son.

TYPES OF SONES:

It is the musical form that represents the folklore of Guatemala within the sounds We have:

-They are Ceremonial

-Are Traditional or Native

-Son Folklore Projection

-Son Barreño

-They are typical

Fountain:
-Son Chapin
From Gandarias, Igor. The Ladino Guatemalan son
-They are from Easter
in the 19th century. 2012. DIGI. Guatemala. 153
pages
-They are from Chabela

COMPOSERS

Vicente Saenz

Juan de Jesus Fernandez

Joseph Scholastic Andrino

Anselmo Saenz

Salvador Iriarte

Albino Paniagua

Remigio Calderon

GUATEMALAN SOUNDS

The basin

The Cenzontle

Christmas Eve

The Quiche King

The deer dance

The fall of the sun