From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
porro
is a musical style and dance from the
Caribbean
region of
Colombia
. It is a Colombian
cumbia
rhythm that developed into its own subgenre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the
Sinu River
area that evolved into a ballroom dance. It is played mostly by brass bands or orchestras, and danced in couples. This genre influenced some of the greatest Latin American bands of the 1960s, with songs such as "Pachito E'che" (originally from Wolfgang Alejandro Tovar Garcia, then interpreted by
Benny More
), "Se va el Caiman", and "Me voy pa'Cataca" (originally from Jose Maria Penaranda, then interpreted by La
Sonora Matancera
.)
Types
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]
The two types of folkloric porro are porro palitiao and porro tapao.
Porro palitiao
[
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]
The term "palitiao" is derived from the way the bombo drum is struck along its rim to produce the sound of a
cowbell
. This type of porro is associated with the Sinu River, and its surrounding cities and towns. Most
[
who?
]
would agree on
San Pelayo, Colombia
, Cordoba as its place of birth. This is the reason why it can also take the name of porro pelayero. In orchestrated variants, porro palitiao or pelayero is known as gaita. See
La Sonora Cordobesa
and
Pacho Galan
for exemplary orro palitiao and gaita music.
Porro tapao
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]
The porro tapao is associated with the savannas around
Cartagena, Colombia
. Its birthplace is believed
[
by whom?
]
to be the town of
El Carmen de Bolivar
, Colombia. In orchestrated forms, this type of porro is called porro sabanero. See
Lucho Bermudez
or
Toto La Momposina
for samples of porro sabanero.
In contemporary culture
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]
Today, orchestrated porro has lost the widespread popularity it had during the 1940s-1970s in Colombia. However, since the 1980s in
Medellin, Colombia
, the genre has seen a revived interest among younger audiences. Dozens of schools in the city specialize in teaching porro moves as well as
mambo
,
pasodoble
,
tango
, and
chachacha
) where participants learn complex turns to compositions by such artists as Lucho Bermudez and Pacho Galan.
[
citation needed
]
The Festival del Porro in San Pelayo and the Festival del Porro in Medellin hold ballroom and folkloric dance competitions.
[
citation needed
]
Notable artists
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]
- Toto La Momposina
- Wolfgang Alejandro Tovar Garcia
- La Combo d'Lido
- Lucho Bermudez y su Orquesta
- Orquesta Sonoritmo
- Orquesta Manuel J. Posada
- Jesus Nuncira Machado
- Pacho Galan
- Jose Maria Penaranda
- Maria Garena
- Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros
- Tarry Garces
References
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]
External links
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]