Los Cuñaos

Last updated
Los Cuñaos
Origin Venezuela
Genres Traditional, pop
Years active1974 (1974)–Present (Present)
Labels CBS–Columbia
Associated acts Roberto Carlos
María Teresa Chacín
Aldemaro Romero
El Trabuco Venezolano
MembersFounding group
Alí Agüero
José Ramón Angarita
Fanny Barrios
Ofelinda García
Carlos Moreán
Gonzalo Peña
Maricruz Quintero
Zenaida Riera
Others
Meiver Acuña
Germán Freytes
Luis Manuel Frómeta
Leonor Jove
Carlos Landáez
Franklin Mendoza
Elizabeth Quintanales
Candy Rojas
Edgar Salazar
José Sifontes
Daniel Somaroo

Los Cuñaos[coo-nyah'-os] is an eight-part vocal group established in Caracas, Venezuela in 1974. Their repertoire is based on popular Venezuelan songs adapted to their own unique style of singing, performing a crossover of traditional and pop genres while contrasting their work with rich and warm harmonies. [1]

Caracas Capital City in Capital District, Venezuela

Caracas, officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and centre of the Greater Caracas Area. Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 1,140 m above sea level, although there is some settlement above this range. The valley is close to the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2,200-metre-high (7,200 ft) mountain range, Cerro El Ávila; to the south there are more hills and mountains. The Metropolitan Region of Caracas has an estimated population of 4,923,201.

Venezuela Republic in northern South America

Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and a large number of small islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. The capital and largest urban agglomeration is the city of Caracas. It has a territorial extension of 916,445 km2. The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, Brazil on the south, Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east and on the east by Guyana. With this last country, the Venezuelan government maintains a claim for Guayana Esequiba over an area of 159,542 km2. For its maritime areas, it exercises sovereignty over 71,295 km2 of territorial waters, 22,224 km2 in its contiguous zone, 471,507 km2 of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean under the concept of exclusive economic zone, and 99,889 km2 of continental shelf. This marine area borders those of 13 states. The country has extremely high biodiversity and is ranked seventh in the world's list of nations with the most number of species. There are habitats ranging from the Andes Mountains in the west to the Amazon basin rain-forest in the south via extensive llanos plains, the Caribbean coast and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.

Folk music Music of the people

Folk music includes traditional folk music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers, or music performed by custom over a long period of time. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. The term originated in the 19th century, but folk music extends beyond that.

Contents

History

The group was formed by musician Alí Agüero, who came to sing with the Onda Nueva group created and led by Aldemaro Romero. The Onda Nueva (New Wave) is a genre derived from the Venezuelan joropo and the Brazilian bossa nova, which has a few slight nods to jazz and classical music. [1]

New wave is a genre of rock music popular in the late 1970s and the 1980s with ties to mid-1970s punk rock. New wave moved away from blues and rock and roll sounds to create rock music or pop music (later) that incorporated disco, mod, and electronic music. Initially new wave was similar to punk rock, before becoming a distinct genre. It subsequently engendered subgenres and fusions, including synth-pop.

Aldemaro Romero Venezuelan musician

Aldemaro Romero was a Venezuelan pianist, composer, arranger and orchestral conductor. He was born in Valencia, Carabobo State.

Joropo Venezuelan folk music and dance

The Joropo is a musical style resembling the fandango, and an accompanying dance. It has African, Native South American and European influences and originated in Venezuelan territory, have very variants: tuyero, oriental,llanero.. It is a fundamental genre of Venezuelan música criolla. It is also the most popular "folk rhythm": the well-known song "Alma Llanera" is a joropo, considered the unofficial national anthem of Venezuela.

In essence, Los Cuñaos is a studio vocal group, as they are jingle singers, the core members of a fellowship that used to gather daily in recording studios to sing a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Individually, they are totally unknown to popular music listeners, even though their singing was heard day and night on television and radio across Venezuela. At the time, most of the top jingle singers in Venezuela drifted into the business from the pop music world. [1]

A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television commercials; they can also be used in non-advertising contexts to establish or maintain a brand image. Many jingles are also created using snippets of popular songs, in which lyrics are modified to appropriately advertise the product or service.

Los Cuñaos made their first public appearance at Aula Magna of the Central University of Venezuela late in 1974. The group later toured Chile, Puerto Rico, Mexico and United States. [1]

Chile Republic in South America

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.

Puerto Rico Unincorporated territory of the United States

Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida.

Mexico Country in the southern portion of North America

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2,000,000 square kilometres (770,000 sq mi), the nation is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent state in the world. With an estimated population of over 120 million people, the country is the eleventh most populous state and the most populous Spanish-speaking state in the world, while being the second most populous nation in Latin America after Brazil. Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and Mexico City, a special federal entity that is also the capital city and its most populous city. Other metropolises in the state include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana and León.

Selected repertory

  • Adios
  • Alma llanera
  • Ayúdame / Cuando no sé de ti / Te necesito / Ansiedad
  • Barlovento / San Juan to' lo tiene
  • Caballo viejo
  • Canchunchú dichoso / Caramba
  • Caracas / Cimarrón
  • Carmen
  • Carretera / Me gusta soñar
  • Chucho y Ceferina
  • Conde a Principal
  • Crepúsculo coriano
  • Dama antañona / Mujer merideña
  • Danzas orientales / Maremare / El robalo / La burriquita
  • El ausente / Brumas del mar
  • El cumaco de San Juan / Mónica Pérez
  • El muñeco de la ciudad / El carite
  • El raspao'
  • Esquina la Bolsa
  • Fantasía criolla
  • Flor de Mayo / Ahora
  • Florentino y el Diablo
  • La chipola
  • La Ruperta / El perico / Préstame tu máquina
  • Maracaibo en la noche / Pregones de la Plaza Baralt
  • Maria Elena / Adios a Ocumare
  • Niño lindo
  • Olor a Navidad / Grey Zuliana
  • Poco a poco
  • Polo coriano
  • Pueblos tristes
  • Quinta Anauco / Y llueve todavía
  • Quitapesares / Amándonos
  • Ricciardi
  • San Juan se va / Moliendo café
  • Serenata
  • Tu ternura / Anhelante
  • Zumba que zumba

Discography

YearTitleLabelRef
1974  Los Cuñaos – Música Venezolana    CBS–Columbia   [2] [3]
1975Los Cuñaos Volumen 2CBS–Columbia [2] [3]
1975Los Cuñaos Volumen 3CBS–Columbia [2] [3]
1976Los Cuñaos 4CBS–Columbia [2] [3]
1979Los Cuñaos 5CBS–Columbia [2] [3]
1981Los Cuñaos 6CBS–Columbia [2] [3]
1990Sabor Venezolano (compilation)CBS–Columbia [2] [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Peñin, José; Guido, Walter (1998). Enciclopedia de la Música en Venezuela. Fundación Bigott, Caracas. ISBN   978-980-6428-03-4.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Los Cuñaos Discography".Discogs.com. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Los Cuñaos Biography and Discography".Sincopa.com. Retrieved on December 12, 2015.