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The basic sound element in folkloric music from the Pacific region of Nicaragua is the marimba de arco, also known as the bow marimba. Marimba music, as it is popularly referred to, is traditionally played to be danced by couples during the festivities of Saint Geronimo in the city of Masaya. These couples’ dances and marimba music have come to represent the cultural identity of all Nicaraguans. Nevertheless, although this national representation has been recognized and promoted by many Nicaraguans in the Pacific region, which is where this music and dances are most commonly performed and enjoyed, many other Nicaraguans from different other regions would not agree on being represented by these cultural elements, including for example people from the North and Caribbean regions where their cultural and ethnic backgrounds have produced very distinct types of musical and dancing expressions. The reason for one region’s culture being imposed on the rest is the fact that cities on the Pacific coast of the country have traditionally exerted a political and cultural hegemony over the rest of the nation.
Another idea that has been historically disseminated is that the marimba music is a result of the Indigenous-Spanish cultural mixing only. According to this approach, the element contributed by the indigenous culture would be the marimba and the Spanish element would be the guitar. This of course is not entirely accurate. Renowned writer, Sergio Ramírez, in his masterful essay Tambor Olvidado (The Forgotten Drum), debunks the notion that the culture mix happened only between the Spanish and Indigenous cultures. Instead, he declares that the cultural mix that gave way to what is now the Nicaraguan culture was in fact a mix of three different cultures: Indigenous, Spanish and African. On this subject, Ramírez writes in his book: “Marimba is a word from the Ki-Mbundu (kimbundo) language, derived from the Bantu currently spoken in Angola, where the syllable ma works as a prefix that means “musical instrument.” On the same chapter of Forgotten Drum, “Distant rhythms, close music”, Ramírez explains that currently in Africa many ethnic tribes play the bow marimba. But, how did this instrument get to the Americas? The author on his essay recounts two versions: One is that the marimba was brought to Chiapas with the first African slaves in 1548. The other version is that the indigenous cultures had a similar instrument with only the keys and therefore the contribution of the African culture were the resonance boxes; this version would make the marimba a product of both Pre-Colombian and African cultures. In any case, the African culture is always present. The marimba is a percussion instrument (much like a xylophone) made of wood that has 22 horizontal keys attached to a frame. Each of the keys has a cylinder underneath that works as a resonance box. In addition, the frame is connected to a wooden bow made of a flexible branch, which is used for carrying the instrument. The marimba keys are made of coyote, granadillo or ñámbaro trees because of their solid wood. The frame and the cylinders, on the other hand, are made with royal cedar because the wood is softer and more porous; this allows the resonance boxes to vibrate more with sound and prevents the echo from coming out as a dry thump. The bow is made from lemon tree. The handles of the sticks are made from coffee trees and the heads that hit the keys are made with natural latex from rubber trees. The artisans who make the marimbas in the neighborhood of Monimbó in Masaya are generally the musicians themselves. Thanks to these artisans and musicians the tradition has lived to this day. Although it is true that the marimba and its music are among the most important examples of the current relevance of the culture mix between the Pre-Columbian, Spanish and African cultures; it is also true that they do not represent the entire range of Nicaraguan folk music. There are several other musical expressions that have different influences and were born from other cultural exchange processes that have taken place in Nicaragua throughout its history. The essential characteristic of Nicaraguan culture today is its diversity, and the marimba and its wonderful sound are without a doubt an important and present element of such diversity. La marimba es un instrumento de percusión compuesto de 22 teclas horizontales amarradas a un marco, cada una de las teclas tiene por debajo un cilindro que funciona como caja de resonancia, además, el marco tiene un arco con el que se carga el instrumento. Las teclas se fabrican con árbol de coyote, granadillo o ñámbaro porque son maderas sólidas. En cambio, el marco y los cilindros que funcionan como cajas de resonancia se hacen con cedro real porque es una madera suave y porosa que hace que en las cajas de resonancia vibre más el sonido y no se escuche tan seco. El arco se hace con madera de limón. El mango del bolillo se hace de madera de café y el mazo, con el que se percute el teclado, con el látex del árbol de caucho. Los artesanos que fabrican las marimbas en el barrio de Monimbó de Masaya por lo general también son los músicos que las tocan. Estas personas son las que conservan la tradición ejecutando la marimba en las festividades de San Jerónimo y fabricándola en sus talleres. Si bien es cierto que la marimba y su música son uno de los ejemplos más destacados de la permanencia del mestisaje entre la cultura precolombina, española y africana, también es cierto que no representan a toda la música folklórica nicaragüense. Existen otras expresiones musicales que tienen otras influencias y que son el resultado de otros procesos de intercambio cultural que se han gestado a lo largo de la historia de Nicaragua. El carácter esencial de la cultura nicaragüense es su diversidad y la marimba y su maravilloso sonido, sin duda alguna, son una parte importante y vigente de esa diversidad.
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si muy lindo
8que fep)
