Colombian Culture, Colombia Adoption and Raising Colombian Kids
Helping families with Colombian children stay connected with the Colombian culture. You may contact me at the following e-mail: colombiansadoptcolombians @ hotmail.com (please remove spaces around the @ symbol).
TUNES FOR TUESDAY - Salsa Genome - Son Cubano
By Colombian Mommy - March 22, 2011
Last week I briefly mentioned Salsa's music genome. Before moving on, and not wanting to leave this topic as another lose end, I wanted to explore it a little more in today's post. So, as we travel through history, let's make our mandatory stop in Cuba. Why? Well, remember that Salsa builds upon aging Cuban rhythms.
During the Spanish Colonization of the New World, Spanish immigrants brought to Cuba music and dances they had adopted from other places in Europe. Among these is the Contradanse, which had made its way to Spain from Versalles, and which arrived in the New World as la Contradanza. It is possible, however, that during the same period, French immigrants brought La Contradanse to Haiti, and that Haitian immigrants took care of moving it to La Habana. Either way, in Cuba, La Contradanza lost its collective nature and became a dance for couples as Cubans created their own version of La Contradanza by mixing the European music with the well established rhythms of African slaves.
The Africans had been able to retain many of their religious and social traditions by confounding the Padres. Where the Priests saw acceptance of the Catholic Saints, the African Slaves saw a way to assimilate their Orishas into the new faith. Thus, Africans from Cuba and Haiti blended their vocal traditions and contagious drum beats with the Contradanza to create at the end of the 19th Century the music that would give birth to the Son Cubano.
The Trovadores (traveling musicians, loners and usually guitar players), contributed to the creation and spread of the Son through cities such as Santiago de Cuba and La Habana. Think of the Son Cubano as the equivalent to the Blues in the United States: a basic rhythm, rooted in deep cultural traditions.
The Son became popular among Caribbean working classes because it was a simple, portable rhythm. It only required a guitar and some form of hand made percussion. When played at a slower tempo, it is called Son Montuno. Both rhythms made it to the US in the baggage of Americans who during the 1930s flocked to La Habana (yes, Havanna) evading Prohibition.
There are more recent examples of the Son, but since we are talking history, here's a song that became the first Cuban hit in New York as well as in Paris and other European cities around 1928. A classic:
El Manicero by Moises Simmons.
Simmons, born in Cuba, was the child of a Basque musician. El Manicero, The Peanut Vendor, was first performed by Rita Montaner, and is sometimes attributed to her. Here it is performed by those who introduced the song to the United States, The Don Azpiazu's Orchestra:
Music Tunes for Tuesday
Most Common Last Names in Colombia
By Colombian Mommy - January 28, 2011
According to the Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil in Colombia, the most common last names in Colombia in 2010 were the following. Rodríguez Gómez González Martínez García López Hernández Sánchez Ramírez Pérez Días Muñoz Rojas Moreno Jiménez While this is a list that covers all of Colombia, there are some regional differences. In Antioquia, the last names Restrepo, Zapata y Álvarez are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most common names and Montoya 8th, while they are not even in the top 10 in Bogotá, Cali or Barranquilla. The last name Castro is the 10th most popular last name in Barranquilla, however, is it not in the top ten of any other major city's list. Additionally, in Cali, the last name Valencia is in 7th place, while it also does not appear on any other city's list.
Most Popular Female Baby Names in Colombia -- 2000-2010
For those of you expecting Colombian Daddy's Tunes for Tuesday, you'll have to wait another week. Colombian Daddy will be back next week with his pick #3 for Tunes Most Colombians Will Recognize. For now, enjoy the next entry in our Most Popular Names in Colombia Series. Today, the most popular Female Names from 2000 - 2010, according to the Registraduria Nacional. Here are the names that are en vogue in Colombia for little girls. Valentina Mariana Daniela Natalia Valeria Isabella Sofia Manuela Juliana Alejandra Here are the top 10 combined names. Laura Valentina Maria Camila María José María Fernanda María Alejandra Paula Andrea Ana María Luisa Fernanda Laura Sofia María Paula
Popular Colombian Names
Recently, I was asked to write a post on Colombian names, and popular Colombian names. I had a hard time finding a list, but eventually I did find one. According to I.N.E. - Instituto Nacional de Estadística, -- unfortunately, when I found this it doesn't say the year -- the most common Colombian boys names across all ages are: 1 JUAN CARLOS 2 CARLOS ALBERTO 3 ALEXANDER 4 ANDRES FELIPE 5 LUIS FERNANDO 6 DIEGO FERNANDO 7 JHON JAIRO 8 CARLOS ANDRES 9 ALEJANDRO 10 JUAN DAVID The girls are: 1 SANDRA MILENA 2 LUZ MARINA 3 CAROLINA 4 PAULA ANDREA 5 CLAUDIA PATRICIA 6 MARIA EUGENIA 7 PAOLA ANDREA 8 DANIELA 9 LILIANA 10 MARTHA CECILIA Just as here, names go through ebb and flow. Fourteen years ago when we were married, I attended several baby baptisms and met numerous friends of my husband. At the time, it seemed like everyone was naming their kid Juan CAMILO (boy) or Maria CAMILA (girl). I met dozens of them. Then, about 7 years later, I heard tons of SANTIAGO, JULIAN, SEBASTIAN an
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