Entradas

Big Blog II: One Last Music-Culture

Imagen
  For this second Big Blog I have decided to share with you a typical Spanish dance called "Ball de Bastons" that means “Stick Dance” in english. The “balls de bastons” or dance of the canes is a typical popular dance spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, and that in Spain takes place mainly in Aragon, Valencia and specially, in Catalonia. This peculiar dance has different peculiarities depending on the area in which it is practiced but always having as protagonist a cane or two canes that hit each other to the rhythm of the music (simplyknowledge.com). The origin of this dance is not known with certainty and although some say it comes from Greece, others go back to agricultural rites and traditions of the prehistoric era. However, the most widespread theory places it in a dance of swords that confronts two sides fighting recognized by having different colors of scarf and skirt. The dances were very popular in the 15th century and persist in France, Italy, Engla...
2 comentarios
Leer más

Music & Family

Imagen
 For this entry I decided to interview my mother, Marga. Marga was born in 1970 in Mallorca, Spain, she has 2 sons (my brother and I) aged 17 and 21 and a husband (my father). Marga has lived all her life in Mallorca and when she was young she never had many opportunities to travel, thanks to her and my father today I am able to travel to many places. Thanks to them I am now living in the USA. My mother has always been a fan of a Spanish musical group called 'Mecano'. I remember that when my mother accompanied me to class she always played some of his songs, at the beginning I didn't like his songs very much but I ended up liking them. The group was formed by singer Ana Torroja and brothers Nacho and José María Cano. The following interview was done by video call because she is in Spain and I am in the USA I wrote down the questions and answers in a word document: here I leave the interview; -Me: Has your musical taste changed over the years? -Mom: I have always l...
1 comentario
Leer más

Big Blog n.1: American Roots Music

Imagen
  Big Blog n.1: American Roots Music My search has been based on Tejano music genre. Tejano music also can be   named as ‘Tejana’ or ‘Tex-Mex’ and it was born in Texas. Although it has influences from Mexico and other Latin American countries, the main influences are American. The types of music that make up Tejano music are folk music, roots music, rock, R&B, soul music, blues, country music and the Latin influences of norteño, mariachi and Mexican cumbia. Famous Tejano musicians included Emilio and Raulito Navaira, David Lee Garza and Jay Perez. Emilio y Raulito Navarra: As we can see in the video, Tejano music conveys liveliness, joy, excitement and the desire to dance. Typically, Tejano   combines Mexican Spanish vocal styles with dance rhythms from Czech and German genres; particularly polka or waltz. Since the late 20th century, Tejano has experienced a decline of dedicated radio stations in the U.S., due to several factors. Among these is the success of Intoc...
3 comentarios
Leer más
Imagen
 Music & Gender I would like to open this topic by starting to talk about a very traditional holiday in Spain that is celebrated on June 24 called "San Juan." These festivities have been famous throughout the years and there is a place in Spain where it is celebrated with a little more enthusiasm than in other places, this place is called Menorca and it is part of the Balearic Islands. Nowadays many people from all over Spain go to Menorca on the 24th of June to see the celebration of San Juan. It is a very beautiful and peculiar celebration, there is a musical band along with horses with riders and a donkey. The horses train all year round just for that date and pass among the people while the band performs a very unique and typical melody of San Juan thanks to a typical instrument of Menorca called "flabiol" which is very similar to a flute but short and is played with one hand. The band also plays instruments such as drums, cymbals and trumpets. I usually go ...
6 comentarios
Leer más
Imagen
 Music & Rituals For this section of the blog I would like to share music and rituals from Spain. Many people think that in all Spain the music and rituals are the same everywhere, that is not so. In Spain there are 6 different official languages: Spanish, Catalan, Valencian, Galician, Basque and Aranese. Therefore, there are many different traditions as well as rituals and music. I am going to show you different examples of music and rituals that can be seen in different parts of Spain. Let's start with Catalunya: Catalunya is located in the eastern part of Spain and Spanish and Catalan are spoken. In Catalunya they have a typical ritual called "La Sardana". La Sardana is a dance that is danced in a circle, facing the center. To the sound of the cobla, the dancers, men and women alternating in indeterminate numbers, shake hands and tap their feet in short and long steps, known to all participants. It is usually celebrated the first week of October and symbolizes: dem...
7 comentarios
Leer más

Music & Me

Imagen
 Hey! My name is Joan and I am very excited to move forward with this class. I'm from Spain and I am currently studying at Converse University. I am a sophtmore and my major is Sports Management. Besides studying I also play soccer since I was 5 years old, it is a sport that makes me happy and isolates me from daily problems and stress. In my free time I like to go out for a walk with friends or go for a drink. I consider myself a sociable person so I like to be surrounded by people. I have a younger brother who lives with my family in Spain. I have always enjoyed listening to music and I think that's why this class will be very interesting. 1- My go to song: It's complicated for me to have to choose only one song since I like different styles of music and many different songs. But right now my favorite song is "Neverita" by Bad Bunny. It's in Spanish and what I like the most about the song is the beat and how it changes during the playback. Besides, I choose ...
2 comentarios
Leer más