- Conjunto
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Conjunto (Spanish pronunciation: [koŋˈxunto], group) literally translates as "group," and is regionally accepted in Texas as defining a genre of music (also known as Conjunto music) that was born out of south Texas at the end of the 19th Century, after German settlers introduced the button accordion. The bajo sexto has come to accompany the button accordion and is integral to the Conjunto sound. Many conjuntos are concentrated in the Southwestern portion of the United States, primarily in Texas and California. In Mexico the term conjunto is associated with Norteño and Tejano music. Since Tejano was bred out of Norteña music originally, this association is not entirely false. However, due to various cultural and socioeconomic developments in the 1900s, Norteña musicians began trailblazing the Tejano genre as a tangent to conjunto.[1]
Despite widely recognized as Mexican, conjunto is also used by Caribbean and Cuban groups, such as the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba and everywhere else in the Spanish speaking world. Other words used to describe musical groups are orquesta, banda, charanga, or the name may refer to the number of members in the group such as septeto for a septet, for example.
In the US and Mexico, a conjunto band is composed of four main instruments: the button accordion, the bajo sexto, an electric bass, and a drum kit. They are popular in Northern Mexico and Southern Texas. German and East European settlers brought their accordions, waltzes and polkas to the region, which were adapted by the local population.
["Chulas Fronteras"] is a documentary film from the 1970's which illustrates how the music meshed into the lives of families in South Texas and Northern Mexico.
References
- ^ Ragland, Cathy (2009). Música Norteña: Mexican Migrants Creating a Nation between Nations. Philadelphia: Temple Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-746-6.
External links
- "Playing From the Heart", WBGU-PBS documentary featuring a Conjunto musician.
- "Conjunto definition"
- "Accordion Dreams", PBS documentary covering the history of Conjunto music up to the 1990's
Categories:- Mexican styles of music
- Music of Texas
- Cuban music
- Musical group stubs
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