During the colonial period, El Salvador's music began to be influenced by various ethnic groups involved in the colonization process.
Music instruments that are present in El Salvador are Native American Pan-Indianism instruments such as Native American flute and drums. El Salvador has an American indigenous population which includes the Lenca, Pipil and Mayan people.
Popular styles in modern El Salvador include Salvadoran cumbia, rock and native Mesoamerican Indigenous music which historically have had a long and large significance and impact to modern El Salvador music styles.
Folk music
Salvadoran women in folkloric garb
Musical repertoire consists of xuc, danza, pasillo, marcha and canciones. The Xylophone is a representative folk music instrument. Some of the most well known songs are "El Carbonero" and "El Torito Pinto".[citation needed]
Marimba is one of the traditional folk music styles performed in El Salvador and was first introduced by African slaves. Two versions, of the percussion instrument that has intonations like a piano, the marimba de arco, which was played with a bow, and the marimba criolla were introduced. A coup d’état in 1932 resulted in the massacre of around 30,000 people and destruction of both the indigenous population and the original marimba de arco. The modern version of the instrument is a three octave marimba de arco and the music is always instrumental. The heyday of marimba in El Salvador was from the 1920s to 1930s when musicians played internationally, but because the instrument could be adapted to other styles, it remained popular until rock came on the scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1990, a revival of the indigenous music began.[1]
Marimba Centroamericana was one of the marimba bands popular in El Salvador and abroad. The first radio station in El Salvador, which was government-owned, played waltz, foxtrot, rancheras, sones, and songos, along with tangos. El Salvadoran musicians created their own versions of these styles.[1] Another early marimba band was Marimba Atlacatl, founded by Francisco Antonio Beltran in 1917. He toured the world in the 1930s, and in 1935, won an award, presented by the Prince of Wales and his fiancée Wallis Simpson, at the Palm Beach Casino on the Azul Coast of France.[2]
Music of Northern El Salvador
Northern El Salvador is composed of the departments of Chalatenango, Cabañas, Morazán and the northern parts of Santa Ana (e.g., Metapán), San Miguel (e.g., Cd. Barrios) and La Unión (e.g., Nueva Esparta) as well as the town of Suchitoto in the department of Cuscatlán. Northern El Salvador or la Franja Norte is characterized by its mountainous and cool terrain as well as being an area of heavy European settlement and as a result a large majority of the people who inhabit the Northern Region (especially Chalatenango, Metapán, and Morazán) are light-skinned people with colored eyes. The impact they have had on the local culture has been great and the music of Northern El Salvador clearly reflects the European influence in the area.[citation needed]
Chanchona Music
Music from the northern department of Morazán is lively and upbeat with simple lyrics that describe country life, love, and working in the fields. It usually consists of a double bass (chanchona in Salvadoran Spanish, a local word for a female hog, due to its sow-like appearance), two guitars, and two violins. Nowadays, congas and cowbells are added to the mix to produce sounds similar to cumbias. Chanchona music is popular in Eastern El Salvador and it is present there in most of their civic parades and religious holidays. Popular chanchona acts include: la Chanchona de Tito Mira, la Chanchona de Arcadio, Rayos de Oriente, Sonora Santa Marta, and Los Torogoces de Morazán.[3]
Zafacaite
In the northern department of Chalatenango a popular form of music and fandango-type-of-dance was called zafacaite. The term is a compound word composed of the word zafa, from zafar(to loosen) and caite— a Salvadoran term for shoes. It was called so because of the fast and intricate foot stepping down when dancing the music that tended to make ones shoes fly off. The music consisted of a duo or trio playing a guitar, accordion, and violin or sometimes just an accordion and violin but always to a fast-paced rhythm. Popular songs and dances included "La Raspa" ("The Scrape") and "El Levanta Polvo" ("The Dust Lifter").[citation needed]
Native American indigenous music
Indigenous Salvadoran musical group
Inspired by Ambient music, Indigenous music is influenced by the Native American indigenous Lenca, Cacaopera, and Pipil of El Salvador, and especially the Mayan people of the Mesoamerican region in Central America, are a staple in Salvadoran music. Many indigenous music groups such as (Talticpac), have risen in El Salvador, especially after the civil war. Many groups get inspiration from native indigenous music or themes from South and North American.[citation needed]
Salvadoran marching bands
Banda El Salvador participating in the Rose Parade in 2013
School and military marching bands are a staple in El Salvador and it is a vital and crucial part of Salvadoran youth culture, whether in town or cities. Salvadoran marching bands are present in any kind of Salvadoran events, celebrations, and even in small activities, they become present along with their (cachiporristas) cheerleaders. Marching bands are a representative of Salvadoran culture and tradition, music tunes will include anything from national anthem, folkloric music to dance music like cumbia.[citation needed]
Marching bands in El Salvador were once called "war bands". After the peace accords that ended the civil war were signed, the named was changed to "peace bands".[citation needed] The Salvadoran marching bands have even made international appearances in events such as the Rose Parade in the U.S city of Pasadena in New Years, the first time in 2008 and the most recent in 2013, where the Salvadoran marching bands of boys and girls have been able to embrace their talents to the world.[citation needed]
Salvadoran Civil War songs
Salvadoran Civil War songs located in the nueva cancion movement and genre, have been very popular since the 1970- to present day. They were broadcast through Radio Venceremos station and appealed to the majority of the peasant Salvadoran population. One of the most well known songs is "El Salvador ta venciendo" by Yolocamba Ita, as well as American songs like "U.S get out of El Salvador" dedicated to the U.S. involvement.[citation needed]
Salvadoran cumbia
Salvadoran cumbia is a staple in Salvadoran music. Groups such as Orquesta San Vicente who sing (Soy Salvadoreño), the Bravo group who sing (Sabrosa Cumbia) and the Hermanos Flores group who sing (Mi Pais) are three well known cumbia music groups in El Salvador.[citation needed]
Salvadoran rock and hip hop/rap
Rock and hip hop are very well established music genres in Salvadoran culture. Salvadoran rock has a longer history dating back before the civil war while Salvadoran hip hop arrived after the civil war and it is seen as a legacy of the Salvadoran exodus, diaspora, immigration and deportation from the United States, especially from cities such as Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Joaquin Santos, Crooked Stilo and Code Blue are just some of the most well known Salvadoran hip hop groups.[citation needed]
Foreign rock bands from the U.S and other parts of the world are also very welcomed and listened in El Salvador. Many foreign rock groups dedicated songs to El Salvador and the Salvadoran people during the civil war, songs such as "Bullet the Blue Sky" by U2, "El Salvador" by White Lion, and "Weapons for El Salvador" by The Ex were all inspired by the U.S. involvement in the El Salvador War.[citation needed]
Popular music and instruments
Salvadoran boy playing the guitar
Popular music in El Salvador uses xylophones, tubular bells, fanfare trumpets, guitars, double bass, harmonica, glass harmonica, pianos, flutes, drums, scrapers, gourds, and theremin. Indigenous instruments such as drum and flutes are a standard in all Salvadoran music used as a solidarity with El Salvador indigenous ancestry. "El Sombrero Azul," for example, is a cumbia song by Salsa Clave which starts with an indigenous tune.[citation needed] Tubular bells are a cue for El Salvador's Christianity and majestic fanfare trumpets for El Salvador's national pride, the national anthem itself start off with majestic fanfare trumpets.
Music from Colombia mainly and other Caribbean, South American and Central American music has infiltrated the country, especially salsa and cumbia. For example, the famous La Sonora Dinamita is a Colombian cumbia group with one Salvadoran vocalist (Susana Velasques).[citation needed] As one of the first Cumbia groups to reach international success, it is credited with helping to popularize the genre throughout Latin America, and the world.
Political chaos tore the country apart in the early 20th century, and music was often suppressed, especially those with strong native influences. In the 1940s, for example, it was decreed that a dance called "Xuc" was to be the "national dance" which was created and led by Paquito Palaviccini's and his "Orquesta Internacional Polio."[citation needed] That was one of the many orchestras he led during and in the mid-1940s, his other hit was known throughout the country. "Carnaval En San Miguel" was commonly known to the whole country as the first Salvadoran band that went on to receive numerous awards in the years to come. Paquito Palaviccini, being known throughout Central and South America, made tours to Cuba, Buenos Aires, where Paquito Studied, and other Latin American countries.
The inspiration came to Paquito to develop the "Xuc" and "El Baile del Torito" in a tour they had in Cuba. The 1960s saw an influx of American and British pop and rock, inspiring like-minded Salvadoran bands, while the following two decades were dominated by a wave of popular genres from across Latin America, mostly folk-based singer-songwriter genres like Chile and Nueva Canción.[citation needed] This new type of Salvadoran rock music was called "Guanarock" (portmanteau of Guanaco, a nickname demonym slang Salvadorans use to refer to themselves which comes from the word Guanacasco which means "gathering brotherhood" in Poton Lenca Mesoamerican language, and rock), which inspired bands such as Ayutush.
Dominicanmerengue and bachata also became very popular. In the last ten years, hip hop and reggaeton has influenced the majority of the Salvadoran youth, which has formed groups like Pescozada and Mecate.[citation needed] Also former Reggaeton producers like Wilfredo Rivas (Dj Emsy) and Jose Castaneda (Mambo King) who had worked with vary of famous Reggaeton and Hip hop artists such as: Dj Flex, Cheka, The Black Eyed Peas, Nicky Jam, El Torito and many others.[citation needed]
Salvadoran cumbia is related to but very distinct from Colombian cumbia, which is better known outside of El Salvador. Chanchona ensembles, led by a pair or a single violin, are popular, especially among the immigrant community in the Washington D.C. area.[citation needed]
Alternative music
Salvadoran musical group in San Vicente
El Salvador has prominent heavy metal, reggae, ska, dubstep, punk and electronic dance scenes due to its prolific local bands and venues; and the recent increase in local concerts by international bands that include San Salvador as a frequent destination in their international tours. Anastasio y los del Monte was widely lauded for bringing reggae to El Salvador.[4]
Art music
The main composer of the 19th century was José Escolástico Andrino (born in Guatemala). Wenceslao García was the first native composer. Important military bands composers and arrangers include Jesús Alas, Alejandro Muñoz and Domingo Santos. María de Baratta was an important ethnomusicologist and composer in the 20th century.[citation needed]
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. The country's population in 2023 was estimated to be 6.5 million.
This is a demography of the population of El Salvador including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the marimba has a lower range. Typically, the bars of a marimba are arranged chromatically, like the keys of a piano. The marimba is a type of idiophone.
The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporate the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Due to its highly syncretic nature, Latin American music encompasses a wide variety of styles, including influential genres such as cumbia, bachata, bossa nova, merengue, rumba, salsa, samba, son, and tango. During the 20th century, many styles were influenced by the music of the United States giving rise to genres such as Latin pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, and reggaeton.
The music of Mexico is highly diverse, featuring a wide range of musical genres and performance styles. It has been influenced by a variety of cultures, primarily deriving from Europeans, Indigenous, and Africans. Music became an expression of Mexican nationalism starting in the nineteenth century.
The music of Colombia is an expression of Colombian culture, music genres, both traditional and modern, according with the features of each geographic region, although it is not uncommon to find different musical styles in the same region. The diversity in musical expressions found in Colombia can be seen as the result of a mixture of Amerindian, African, and European influences, as well as more modern American.
Andean music is a group of styles of music from the Andes region in South America.
The music of Belize has a mix of Creole, Mestizo, Garìfuna, Mayan and European influences.
The Pipil are an Indigenous group of Mesoamerican people inhabiting the western and central areas of present-day El Salvador. They are a subgroup of the larger Nahua ethnic group of Central America. They speak the Nawat language, which belongs to the Nahuan language branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. The Nawat language is distinct from the Nahuatl language, as Nawat is descended from the central Mexican Nahuatl, and spoken mainly in Central America. There are very few speakers of the language left, which is a reason for the current efforts being made to revitalize it.
Panama is a Central American country, inhabited mostly by mestizos. The music of Panama is heavily based on the folk music of Spain, particularly that of Andalusia and was influenced first by the indigenous populations of Kunas, Teribes, Ngobe Bugle and others, and then by the black population who were brought over, first as slaves from Africa, between the 16th century and the 19th century, and then voluntarily to work on the Panamanian Railroad and Canal projects between the 1840s and 1914.
The Music of Nicaragua contains a mixture of European, Indigenous, and African influences. Occasionally, it also rarely features Asian and Arab musical influences as well as from other countries of Hispanic and Latino origin. Musical instruments include the marimba and others that are common across Central America. Pop music includes performers from all around the world including Nicaraguans, Cubans, Brazilians, Mexicans, Panamanians, as well as those from Europe and the United States.
Morazán is a department of El Salvador. Located in the northeast part of the country, its capital is San Francisco Gotera. It covers a total surface area of 1,447 km2 and has a population of more than 199,500.
The culture of El Salvador is a Central American culture nation influenced by the clash of ancient Mesoamerica and medieval Iberian Peninsula. Salvadoran culture is influenced by Native American culture as well as Latin American culture. Mestizo culture and the Catholic Church dominates the country. Although the Romance language, Castilian Spanish, is the official and dominant language spoken in El Salvador, Salvadoran Spanish which is part of Central American Spanish has influences of Native American languages of El Salvador such as Lencan languages, Cacaopera language, Mayan languages and Pipil language, which are still spoken in some regions of El Salvador.
Regional styles of Mexican music vary greatly from state to state. Norteño, banda, duranguense, Son mexicano and other Mexican country music genres are often known as regional Mexican music because each state produces different musical sounds and lyrics.
Salvadorans, also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smaller communities in other countries around the world.
Peruvian cumbia is a subgenre of chicha that became popular in the coastal cities of Peru, mainly in Lima in the 1960s through the fusion of local versions of the original Colombian genre, traditional highland huayno, and rock music, particularly surf rock and psychedelic rock. The term chicha is more frequently used for the pre-1990s variations of the subgenre.
Francisco Palaviccini Sandoval, also known as "Paquito" Palaviccini, was a Salvadoran composer and singer. Among his best known compositions are "Adentro Cojutepeque", "El Xuc", "El Carnaval en San Miguel", "Santa Ana Mía", "El Café de Mi Tierra", "Usulután", and "Cocotero Sonsonateco".
Cumbia is a folkloric genre and dance from Colombia.
"Adentro Cojutepeque" is a song written and composed in 1942 by Salvadoran singer-composer Francisco Palaviccini, creator of Salvadoran genre xuc. It was composed for the Cojutepeque's Cain Sugar Celebration.
Xuc, also known as Salvadoran folk music, is a musical genre and later a typical dance of El Salvador, which was created and popularized by Francisco "Paquito" Palaviccini in Cojutepeque, located in the department of Cuscatlán in 1942.
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