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Within the diversity of Latin American song, Nicaragua has a significant tradition of singers and song writers. As Argentina has its “tango”, Colombia the “vallenato”, Dominican Republic the “bachata” and Brazil its “bossa nova”, Nicaragua has the “Son Nica”. Francisco (Pancho) Cedeño, a pianist, arranger, orchestral director, musical producer, and ex-member of Pancasán and Tierra Brava, among other prestigious musical bands, tells us about the history and characteristics of the Son Nica.
Ulises Huete: What are the origins of the Son Nica? Pancho Cedeño: Before the creation of the Son Nica, in Nicaragua there were only two types of songs: anonymous songs of colonial origins (romances and corridos) and songs based on foreign rhythms (the bolero, the waltz, the pasillo, etc.). By then, no song genre had been created to express the already well-established Nicaraguan popular culture. It was Camilo Zapata, born September 25, 1917, the first to use the local way of speaking and marimba music to express the idiosyncrasy of Nicaraguan people. He gave birth to the Son Nica. U.H.: What are the features of the Son Nica? P.C.: In the musical sense, Camilo Zapata took the 6/8 time signature of the marimba and he adapted it to the guitar. For song lyrics, he used the record of the Nicaraguan way of speaking (placenames and idioms) and the idiosyncrasy of campesinos. Camilo Zapata also outlined the three great topics of Son Nica songs: traditionalism, social topics and love. For example, “El Peón” (the farmworker) was the first protest song written in Nicaragua, where Zapata denounces the exploitation of campesinos by landowners. U.H.: What is the historical context in which Camilo Zapata created the Son Nica? P.C.: The Son Nica first appeared in 1934 with “Caballito Chontaleño” (Little horse from Chontales), Camilo’s first song. This coincides with the birth of the vanguard movement in Granada, which was set on establishing a characterization of a new national identity in the aftermath of the US occupation of Nicaragua (1926 - 1933). In the same year of the composition of “Caballito Chontaleño”, the poet Pablo Antonio Cuadra, a member of the vanguard movement, published his book “Poemas Nicaragüenses” (Nicaraguan Poems). This illustrates how Nicaraguan culture was searching through its popular traditions to identify the traits of its national identity. U.H.: Were there any other authors that composed Son Nica songs after Camilo Zapata? P.C.: Yes, Camilo Zapata opened a door and other authors later followed. Erwin Kruger was the next, known as the watercolorist of Nicaraguan music due to the rich poetry portrayed in his songs. Erwin Kruger also incorporated a Mexican influence into the Son Nica, with the Corrido and the Son Huasteco, and he internationalized the Son Nica by taking it to Dominican Republic and Mexico, where he lived for several years. Another pioneer was Isaac Carballo, known as the portraitist of personages and landscapes. He explored further into the social topics and wrote songs against imperialist exploitation; he also wrote love songs. Otto de La Rocha is the great romantic of the Son Nica; the main topic of his songs is love and he expressed it through the idiosyncrasy and lexical of the campesinos. There were other authors like Víctor M. Leiva and Justo Santos. The latter composed a melody, his only known song: “La Mora Limpia” (the clean berry), which made him immortal, as it is considered Nicaragua’s second national anthem. Following the steps of the Son Nica pioneers that I mentioned before, are Carlos and Luis Enrique Mejía Godoy and other composers of the 70s and 80s, who incorporated the revolutionary struggle as the main topic of their songs. Salvador Cardenal followed with beautiful compositions loaded with a dense lyricism; he introduced environmental topics in his songs. During the last few years, Juan Solórzano and Ramón Mejía continue with the tradition of the Son Nica, each with his own particular style. Ramón Mejía’s musical proposition combines rock and Son Nica, with songs charged with melodies and a language that expresses the Nicaraguan identity. The Son Nica is part of Nicaragua’s cultural wealth, and its characteristics where defined by Camilo Zapata.
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