Although the Chilean Oaxacan songs emerge from the traditional music of the Andean country, here they mixed with the music of the Costa Chica creating a new genre
Shared from/by Mexico Desconocido
There is no mystery as to their origin, the Oaxacan Chilenas, as their name indicates, come from the so-called Chilean cueca; a musical and dance genre from the Andean country, in turn a product of multiple influences: zambra and Spanish fandango mixed with African American and Peruvian rhythms.
However, how did these rhythmic melodies and their dances so full of life come to our country?
The Oaxacan Chileans and the 19th century
According to some historians, both the music and the dance that would be known as Oaxacan Chileans arrived in 1821 at the port of Acapulco, on a ship of the Chilean Navy, sent by the government of that country to support the insurgents in the fight. for the Independence of Mexico.
However, their arrival coincided with the triumph of the independence movement and Chilean sailors gladly joined the party spirit that predominated in the streets, playing their string instruments and dancing the Chilean cuecas on the beaches, with handkerchiefs in one hand.
Consequently, the happy rhythm of the melodies conquered the people of Acapulque, who mixed it with the traditional music of the region and little by little the Chilean music spread to other areas, especially to the state of Oaxaca.
Dancing to the rhythm of southern music
Currently, Chilean is the representative musical genre of the Costa Chica, a region located between Acapulco and the central coast of Oaxaca. Likewise, it is common for meetings of Chilean musicians to be organized to compose, play and sing this musical genre.
As for the Chilean dance, it involves a lot of tapping, sensual movements and clothing that consists, for the woman, of a wide satin skirt adorned with lace and ribbons; white blouse and beaded figures; as well as a handkerchief hung around the waist or in the hand to wave during the dance.
For their part, the men wear pants and a long white blanket shirt, a palm hat, and two bandanas, one around the neck and the other in the hand, also to wave while they dance.
Finally, the cultural relevance of Oaxacan Chilean women is evident in the Guelaguetza festival, as they represent the region with great pride.
The emblematic music of the southern states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, Chilean music, flourishes in one of the most ethnically diverse regions of Mexico.
A broad collection of subgenres, in both traditional and contemporary hybrid styles, serve populations that are geographically and culturally distinct. This article examines the discourse and rhetorical strategies underlying the stories that tell the origin of Chilena and the efforts to include it in the family of regional sounds of Mexico.
The musical and social aspects of the construction of the genre are related to historical and contemporary narratives that deal with issues of miscegenation, race, regionalism and nation.
During the 19th century, South American music and dance genres, such as cueca, spread along the Pacific coast from Chile and Peru to Mexico and as far north as California. Some forms took root in these coastal areas, combining with native peoples and acquiring distinctive local characteristics.
On the Costa Chica of the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, in honor of the South American origins of the music, a new form became known generically as Chilean. As evidenced in historical and contemporary discourse, like other genres after independence, cueca and chilena contributed to fusing national and regional imaginaries. Just as the cueca was ordained the official musical and dance genre of Chile, the chilena became the emblematic performing genre of the Costa Chica.
