History
History of LHM
Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated nationally from September 15th - October 15th. Starting in 1968, Americans observed what was called, "Hispanic Heritage Week," this was expanded to a month long celebration in 1988. Currently the Office of Multi-Ethnic student affairs helps support the Latinx Heritage Month efforts at the University of Michigan.
Logo
The Latinx Heritage Month (LHM) 2020 logo celebrates the unity and diversity of the Latinx identity through music. Similarly to the Latinx identity, the instruments within the LHM logo each share a unique story. These instruments throughout the years have been used to tell stories in the form of music. Through Latinx music, we are able to share our experiences ranging from sadness to joy in a form of lively and energetic beats that have allowed us to become resilient together. The songs (stories) have been passed down for generations allowing us to stay connected to our ancestors. This year we are hoping to highlight some of those stories that are less heard. All while celebrating and continuing to uplift the community, LHM 2020 aims to highlight the Afro-Latinx identity and create awareness about Anti Blackness within the Latinx community.
Guiro
A percussion instrument made from a long, hollow gourd. It has ridges that produce sound when a stick, called a pua, is scraped along the sides of the instrument. The guiro sound is most often associated with the Puerto Rican and Cuban musical genres of son, trova, and salsa, as a rhythm accompaniment. Traditional guiros are made from the fruit of the higuero tree native to Puerto Rico. The gourds are hollowed, dried and the shells carved with parallel notches. Modern guiros can be made of wood, metal, plastic, and fiberglass. The guiro is believed to have originated in Puerto Rico with the Taíno people as part of folk and ceremonial performances. The earliest recorded reference to the instrument was in 1788, by a monk and Puerto Rico historian called Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra. The guiro was used in folk and dance music of Puerto Rico and Cuba for centuries before becoming popular in broader Latin musical genres, such as salsa and conga.
Trumpet
The earliest trumpets are traced back to 1500 BC in Egypt, and other ancient versions were found in South America and Southeast Asia. Trumpet is best connected to the Mariachi style, which originated in Mexico in the 18th c. The standard instrumentation of a mariachi group includes two trumpets. The trumpet adds color to the group, and often will soar above the group with high improvisations.
Guitar
The guitar is one of the most well-known instruments in history, becoming a staple of multiple genres all over the world. The guitar is a plucked - string instrument that typically has six strings, which change pitch when held down with fingers. The roots of the guitar in Latin America run to when Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th c. The vihuela arrived with the Spaniards and was quickly adopted by natives and people from Africa as well. When the vihuela arrived there was a mesh of cultures and development of a very unique sound. The first documented use of the vihuela in Latin America was in Hispaniola in 1519 by a gentleman named Ortiz. The instrument developed into the modern day Spanish (or classical) guitar, which continues to be a staple of Latin Music.
Maracas
A maraca is a rattle that is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. It appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. The maracas are believed to be inventions of the Tainos, the indigenous people of Puerto Rico. It was originally made from the round fruit of the higuera tree. The indigenous inhabitants of Latin America originally used the maraca in religious chants and ceremonies. They gave a vibrant sound that highlighted these ceremonies. In the 19th and 20th century, the maraca was introduced to in Latin America and the Caribbean, and provided complex rhythmic accompaniment. Maracas are best known in Salsa music, which has strong roots in Afro-Cuban tradition.
Marimba
The marimba is a percussion instrument that has great importance throughout all of Central America. It is constructed of wooden keys that vibrate and produce a pitch when struck with mallets. The marimba has a long history dating back to the African slaves that came to Mexico in the 17th Century. It was first constructed in Chiapas, Mexico, and it quickly spread across Central America. Mayan populations also built marimbas, the first dating to 1680. After 1680, the marimba grew in popularity with indigenous populations constructing them for use in festivals. Marimba music is an essential part of many Hispanic American festivals; no festival in Mexico or Guatemala is complete without Mexican music being played on a marimba. While it is popular in Western Classical Music, it is rooted in the Mexican tradition.
Timbales
Timbales (pailas) are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. It is played with a variety of stick strokes, rim shots, and rolls to produce a wide range of percussive expression during solos and at transitional sections of music. Timbales is the Spanish word for timpani (kettledrums), an instrument that was imported into Cuba in the 19th century. The metal casing, or shell, is referred to as cáscara which is also the name of a rhythmic pattern common in salsa music that is played on the shells of the timbales. Timbales are traditionally used in Danzón, which is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba (also popular in Mexico and Puerto Rico). Timbales also have been widely used in Mambo and Songo music, with the player usually playing the cowbell as well.
Siku
The Siku is a traditional Andean panpipe, and the main instrument used in Andean and Sikuri music. It is traditionally found all across the Andes Mountains in South America, but it originated from the Aymara people of Peru and Bolivia, specifically the women, who would play the siku pipes as they went down the mountain ranges. Sikus are typically made from bamboo shoots, but have also been made from condor feathers, bone, and many other materials. Siku is split across two rows of pipes, which alternate rows in order to play a complete scale. Traditionally, two musicians were required to play the siku, each one taking one row of the instrument, one called ira, the other arka. It is considered that, spiritually, ira corresponds to male principle and arka to female. Historically, different regions would develop their own type of siku, with its own special tuning, shape and size.