La Arpa Grande
In the hot lands of Michoacan, also known as the Tierra Caliente, there is quite a considerable amount of fame that is contributed to the traficantes, smugglers of controlled substances. Since having this fame of traficantes, it has spread into pop culture subjecting this theme the folklore, transforming them into corridos. There are many groups that come from these lands and have developed into different kinds of corridos and mariachi type bands.
The Arpa grande is one kind of musical genre that is influenced from the corridos. One of these groups, Conjunto Alma de Apatzingan, provides a great example of what the Arpa grande consists of in its most authentic, vital, and purest form. “The repertoire of this conjunto de arpa is all encompassing and ranges from old traditional religious minuetes, to old time danzas, and includes lots of popular rancheras and canciones, as well as old and new corridos, and the very regional balonas” (Music of Mexico Volume 2) The musical instruments are the same as in the mariachi; also the use of harps and two kinds of violins: the vihuela and jarana are an intregal part of this type of music. Originally, the cords of the guitars, violins, harps were made from the intestines of pigs or just a combination of certain animals. Having a decent set of strings for the harps were important for the musicians because it serves as the center of this genre of music.
Arpa
grande stems from the corrido in the way that it narrates a story of a hero,
its struggles and fight for the justification of civil rights. Both sing of pop
culture and the lives of poor people. Not all songs have the six formulaic
motifs, but it still have remnants of a true corrido. Another difference
between the Arpa Grande is the addition of harps and violins. True corridos do
not have that in their songs. The addition of harps and violins make it unique
thus calling it Arpa Grande. Traficantes:
smugglers of controlled substances Planeca:
regional geography from La Cuenca del rio Tepalcatepec and a small
portion
of the Balsas. This territory covers about 18,000 km2. Minuetes:
traditional religious songs of praise usually performed in Church in Mexico Danzas
: music for dancing Balones
: regional type of music which are humorous songs based on characters or
Events to make the audience laugh. Arpa
Grande: regional type of music that includes the harp and violin. Vihuela and Jarana: names for two different violins. CONJUNTO Spanish for
"ensemble." Conjunto refers to South Texas-based music fueled by the
accordion and the bajo sexto, a 12-string Spanish bass guitar. NORTENO Spanish for
"northern." Norteno is conjunto's Mexican counterpart. A type of
music relying on accordion and bajo sexto instrumentation. POLKA A fast rhythm that
developed in Europe during the 19th century that became the basis for most
Tejano and norteno music. RANCHERA A sentimental Mexican
song form with romanticized lyrics about love or pastoral life. TEJANO Spanish for
"Texan." Tejano is a hybrid of traditional Mexican rancheras, polkas
and cumbias updated with blues, pop and country strains. La Pipa Dina Esta era la Pipa Dina a las dos de la manana rugia el motor de la Pipa, que olia a pintura fresca que habian cambiado el color, bien llena de marijuana. En la poblacion de Arteaga Decia Laureano Del Rio Con otros dos companeros: -Mucho cuidado chofer, esta mota es de la Buena, es la de Tumbiscatio Asi agarro su destino Por toda la carretera, a veces en Sinaloa o a veces hasta Sonora, Carmelita se encargaba De pasarla a la frontera. Estado de Michoacan, Carretera treinta y siete La tiene muy vigilada La federal de Caminos Compradors transitaban se pelaron come un cohete Hay Guerra contra la mafia, Ya los estan acabando ya no caben en la carcel pero siguen traficando porque en Estados Unidos mejor la siguen pagando. La pipa muy bien cargada a Uruapan iba llegando, la señala la Federal pero se aventó a un barranco; Carmelita y don Laureano se quedaron esperando. I want to thank the CD of The Music of Mexico Vol. 2:
Michoacán(Arhoolie CD 426, Conjunto Alma de Apatzingán:
Arriba! Tierra Caliente!) Audio Courtesy of Arhoolie Frontera Collection.Vocabulary
“Conjunto ALMA de Apatzingan”