Music & Gender
It is no secret that in the past, men were usually in charge of playing the music and women were in charge of the dances and keeping them company. This is something that we can see in most cultures, which is really interesting because even though we are so different, we speak different languages and have different traditions; this dynamic of gender and music is present in a lot of cultures.
This is also something we can see in the Colombian culture, in which if we look back years ago, we can see how the musical groups were mostly composed of men. Today, I’m going to talk about a specific genre of music that is really popular in the Colombian Caribbean and in which we can still see how the majority of people who are part of this musical genre are men.
This genre is called Vallenato and if I’m honest this is one of my favorite musical genres of my country. I love that the music in this genre is very cheerful, transmits a lot of feelings and is very traditional.
Below I’m going to show you a video of a Vallenato group formed only by men, which is what is traditionally seen in the streets of Colombia.
Vallenato is a genre that is characterized by being a genre for men, and it was like that for a long time until Patricia Teherán became known. She was the most important female voice in the history of Vallenato. She was born in Cartagena, Colombia and died at the age of 25 in a car accident. Despite her death at a really young age, Patricia accomplished things that totally changed this musical genre and opened the door for many women in the business of music. She formed a musical group called “Las Diosas del Vallenato''. A vallenato group only formed by women, and the most popular and recognized so far in history.
The next video, is the video of one of their most famous songs:
She was so recognized and influential in Colombia and in the dynamic of genres in music, that a television series was made based on her life to honor her and to keep her legacy alive in the new generations.
After her death, the female gender has not been as recognized in the genre. However, there are a lot of women trying to show their talent.
One of them is Ana Del Castillo:
Even Karol g, a really famous reggaeton singer, has made a tribute to this genre and to Patricia Teherán by singing one of her most popular songs and by embracing and showing off the Colombian culture.
This was at a concert in Medellin, Colombia.
Hey, I really like the story you told us. The fact that Vallenato was only practiced by men and that later a woman "revelation" came along so that the female gender could also enter the world of Vallenato seems fascinating to me.
ReplyDeleteHi Maria. I really like your blog. I have never heard of Vallenato before, but I enjoyed learning about it! It's sad that after Patricia's death, females haven't been recognized in Vallenato.
ReplyDeleteHey! I really like how you connected your blog to your culture and your country. I find it very interesting learning about other people's history and other people's culture. Thank you for sharing it with us. I also really like the music that you shared with us! I think that it is really cool!
ReplyDeleteHey Maria! Thank you for sharing about gender and music in Columbia, it was very interesting. Learning about Vallenato was fascinating and I especially enjoyed how Teheran entered that world of music even though it was heavily dominated by men.
ReplyDeleteHi Maria, I found your blog very inspirational. It is nice to think that someone who passed away so young was able to make such a difference for those women who came after her. The music was very nice too- very upbeat and fun! Thanks for sharing!
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