Chamamé

Chamamé is a folk music genre from Northeast Argentina and Argentinian Mesopotamia. In 2018, Argentina nominated Chamamé for inclusion in UNESCO's Intangible cultural heritage list. Chamamé is also appreciated in the Chilean Patagonia and in Northwest Uruguay. Jesuit Reductions in the area encouraged cultural growth that lasted until the Jesuits were expelled by the Spanish Crown in the late 18th century. Within this area, Yapeyú Corrientes was a centre of musical culture that many point to as the birthplace of the original Chamamé. Further mixing with instruments such as the Spanish guitar, then the violin and the accordion, finally resulted in what we currently know as "Chamamé". There are recordings of Chamamé dating back to the early 20th century, and the term 'Chamamé' was already used in 1931; this type of music, prior to that, was often referred to as the Corrientes' Polka. The Chamamé, originally schottische brought by the Volga German immigrants, has considerable Guaraní influence, mixed with the Spanish guitar and the European accordion from those immigrants that arrived in the area at the beginning of the 20th century. Among chamamé figures of note are Raúl Barboza, Tarragó Ros, (his son) Antonio Tarragó Ros, Teresa Parodi, Ernesto Montiel, Tránsito Cocomarola, Mario Millán Medina, and modern musicians Chango Spasiuk, Zitto Segovia, Mario Bofill, Alejandro Brittes and Los Núñez con Ruiz Guiñazú.