La Negra by Mariachi Vargas de Tacalitlan--Cael Rowley Week 2 blog
"La Negra" BY: Mariachi Vargas de Tacalitlan
La Negra is an amazing song! Sung by the famous Mariachi band called, "Vargas de Tacalitlan", It is a song that in its day and age brought a lot of hop and emotion to the Mexican culture. There is a lot of elements that made this song popular late in the nineteenth century including the repetition, dynamics, and culture forth-bringing.
La Negra has very interesting charismatics about the piece. One of the most important one is how it grabs the audience with its Introduction. The introduction uses dynamics very well as it starts really loud while repeating the melody several times. Then, with the lyrics and words on there way, the music cuts to a solo trumpet. I noticed how the dramatic change in the volume gives the listener a hook to keep listening. It always gives that "whats next?" moment to the piece. The dynamics and repetition of this song keep it very exciting but interesting melodically at the same time.
Culturally, this song brings out early Mexican tradition. I had the chance to live in Mexico for a year, and mariachi has been traditional for a long time. Mariachi is sung to give thanks for whatever the song is about. In this case, the song talks about all culture from all parts of the world, and struggles. The song is basically giving thanks to what we really do have aside from all political differences, which I thought was neat! The greatest part of this song, is because all the melodies repeated so much, it gave future mariachi bands to play covers, add, and build to this genre in general for more generations.
Wow! I really liked your blog, makes me wish I had done better on mine lol. I have listened to more mariachi music than I would have liked to, mariachi isn't really my cup of tea. This song is far better than the songs my co-workers liked to listen to. I think you are right about how the volume changes throughout the song. I think that is a common trait in most mariachi songs but this one uses that appeal more than other songs I can compare it too.
ReplyDeleteI love your passion when talking about the song! It really is a great song with a lot of influence and impact on culture in Mexico and bringing Mexican culture to America. I like how you explained the dynamics and how they impact the emotion and feeling of the song. It is really a great song and your review does it justice.
ReplyDelete