Object Details
- Creator
- Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
- Views
- 12,381
- Video Title
- Carlos Mejía Discusses Marimba Traditions [Live at Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2006]
- Description
- The marimba is a large, wooden instrument from West Africa. Enslaved Africans carried the marimba tradition with them to Latin America, where it became an integral part of Latin American music, particularly in Guatemala. Traditional marimba music serves as a link between young Guatemalans living in the USA. and Guatemalan culture. Carlos Mejía, a master marimba player, founded the group Ixchel in Chicago, Illinois, to teach youth about their culture and heritage through music. Katalina Trujillo and Víctor Zacbé Pichardo accompany Mejía as they perform traditional and contemporary marimba songs from Guatemala and Mexico. For more Guatemalan marimba music, listen to 'Chapinlandia - Marimba Music of Guatemala,' available on CD and digital. Stream/download/purchase: Smithsonian Folkways: http://www.folkways.si.edu/chapinlandia-marimba-music-of-guatemala/latin/album/smithsonian Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6zHrFAUEzDr6ePD4YgqekG?si=Px-XIDe-R1az9LYbh48wLQ Steeped in centuries of tradition, Marimba Chapinlandia and its music express the "modern" marimba sound that took shape around the turn of the 20th century. Its catchy melodies, sentimental harmonies, and dance rhythms are the signature of Guatemala's national musical instrument that drew from the African, Indian, and Ladino (creole) roots of Central America's colonial past. For festive occasions or casual listening, the marimba expresses Guatemalan sentiment like no other music. The content and comments posted here are subject to the Smithsonian Institution copyright and privacy policy (www.si.edu/copyright). Smithsonian reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time.
- Video Duration
- 3 min 21 sec
- YouTube Keywords
- music folk "Woody Guthrie" "Pete Seeger" Smithsonian Folkways old-time non-profit
- Uploaded
- 2010-04-07T15:38:47.000Z
- Type
- YouTube Videos
- See more by
- smithsonianfolkways
- Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
- YouTube Channel
- smithsonianfolkways
- YouTube Category
- Music
- Topic
- Cultural property
- Record ID
- yt_W1URbjNc3VQ
