Traditional and folk music
On the whole, indigenous music remains largely unknown. That said, the music of the Mapuche people has been particularly well preserved and carefully handed down from generation to generation. Having always resisted the Incas' attempts at conquest, Mapuche music and instruments stand out from Andean-influenced northern cultures. For them, music is most often a religious expression, sung and danced to honor Ngenechén, the absolute deity. But the Mapuche also have melodies to accompany all the different aspects of life: work, sleep, play, and so on. Mapuche instrumentation is also rather elementary, combining singing with the kultrún (a percussion instrument and the most important instrument in Mapuche culture) and the trutruca, a kind of spiral trumpet made from coligüe (or colihue, a native bamboo) cane ending in a horn, with a low, shrill sound. The same wood is used to make the pingkullwe, a 5-hole transverse flute. Less common are the kull kull, a small trumpet made from bull horn, and the kunkulkawe, a bow rubbed against another bow. For a taste of Mapuche musical traditions, an excellent idea is to attend the Mapuche New Year, held every year between June 21 and 24, where the new year is welcomed with all kinds of folkloric and traditional activities.
In the 19th century, the shift from the end of the colonial period to Independence began to imprint a national identity on Chilean music. It was during this period that the country's anthem was composed (around 1818). It was also when the cueca first appeared. Considered typically Chilean - although of Spanish origin and also present in other Andean countries - the cueca is the country's folk music par excellence. A national dance since 1979, it was probably imported from Peru at the end of the 19th century. It was then called zamacueca, and was sung and danced in chinganas, a kind of cabaret where all social classes gathered and drank fervently. Symbolizing love and seduction, the cueca takes different forms in different regions. In the north, it has no lyrics and is danced on religious festivals and carnival days, while in the center, it has lyrics and the instruments most often used to perform it are the guitar, tambourine, accordion and bombo. Abandoned for a time by the younger generations, the cueca made a lasting comeback in the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to musicians such as Roberto Parra (of the famous Parra clan of musicians) and Hernan "Nano" Nuñez (the genre's greatest composer). As popular as ever, cueca can be easily heard and danced to in the city, with clubslike La Chimenea and Santiago's more upscaleOpera Catedral coming highly recommended.
Beyond the cueca, many traditional musical forms are cultivated throughout the country. In the north, the Andean influence is very strong, as is the military brass band dating back to Spanish colonization. The Fiesta de la Tirana, held every July 16, is a not-to-be-missed event for soaking up the musical culture of northern Chile. It's also a good opportunity to see how religious celebrations in this part of the country blend pre-Columbian and Christian forms. The region also boasts a number of specific instruments, such as the quena, the traditional Andean flute, the zampoña, a musical pan flute, and the ocarina.
In the central Valle, apart from the cueca, the other great musical tradition is the tonada. Stemming from the music brought over by the Spanish colonists, the tonada is one of Chile's most important traditional forms. Non-danced, it differs from the cueca in its emphasis on melody. A few groups, such as Los Huasos Quincheros, Los Huasos de Algarrobal and Los de Ramon, have made a name for themselves playing the tonada . Elsewhere, in the center of the country, the sajuriana, originally from Argentina, is danced in pairs with a handkerchief in the hand, or the refalosa, also similar to the zamacueca. Generally speaking, the folklore of central Chile, like that of the south, is closely linked to rural life, and the representative of this culture is the huaso, the Chilean cowboy.
In the south, Spanish folklore has been particularly well preserved. Pasacalle, for example, is still danced here. This may be explained by the fact that, during the War of Independence, Chiloé remained loyal to the Spanish crown. Otherwise, the region's most popular dances are the pericona, probably imported from Argentina, the chilote waltz, which differs from the traditional waltz in its energy and intensity, and the trastasera, also imported from Argentina, whose movements follow the instructions in the lyrics of the song. More anecdotal is El Costillar, where couples dance freely around a bottle as if it were a totem.
On Easter Island, Tahitian and Polynesian influences are of course very much in evidence, with couples dancing the sau-sau, a dance executed with grace and sensuality, the ula-ula, also practiced in couples by undulating their hips sideways, or the tamuré, a very fast and acrobatic Tahitian dance.
The country's various festivals are great opportunities to discover its folklore. Among them, the FiestaDe La Vendimia, the Santa Cruz grape harvest festival, the Fiesta San Pedro in the village of the same name, and the Fiestas Patrias, the national holiday, are brimming with traditional music and dance.
Popular music
If Cuban music was in vogue in the 1940s and 1950s (witness the success of Lucho Gatica's boleros), today it's cumbia that's all the rage - be it Colombian, Argentinean or Chilean. It's present at every popular party, played by sonoras such as the mythical Sonora Palacios (the pioneers), Orquesta Huambaly, Pachuco y la Cubanacán and, of course, Tommy Rey's indestructible Sonora. Ever more popular in Chile, cumbia has gradually acclimatized to its adopted land, finding its own form here, dubbed "cumbia sonora", richer in brass and faster than the original version. The 2000s also saw the emergence of a hybrid style known as "new Chilean cumbia", driven by groups like Chico Trujillo who blend the genre with rock, ska, hip-hop and even Balkan music. In Santiago, there's no shortage of great places to dance cumbia, but if we had to pick just one, it would be the Salsoteca Maestra Vida, with its friendly atmosphere.
Another pillar of Chilean popular music is, of course, the famous nueva canción chilena (new Chilean song). Emerging during the 1960s and 1970s, a period of social struggle throughout Latin America, this musical revival movement took on the struggles of its time: the misery of the people, the dictatorship, but also the hopes raised by the Cuban revolution. It was Violeta Parra who laid the foundations by reviving thousands of Chilean folk songs. After a modest career as a circus (!) or nightclub singer, Violeta Parra criss-crossed the country, immersing herself in regional folk themes. From these popular roots, Violeta Parra created a music that was close to the lives of ordinary people, becoming the singer of their sufferings, aspirations and dreams. Before taking her own life in 1967, this immense artist paved the way for many others to follow in her footsteps, such as Patricio Manns, Margot Loyola (a great folklorist), Isabel and Angel Parra (Violeta's children), Rolando Alarcón and, of course, Víctor Jara. The latter has also become one of the leading voices of Nueva Canción. His powerful lyrics, marked by class struggle and denunciation of poverty, made him a prime target. On the day of Pinochet's coup d'état, Jara was arrested, tortured and then executed with some forty bullets.
Although the dictatorship put a brutal brake on the development of Nueva Canción, it did not succeed in stifling it completely and, despite bans and arrests, many artists continued to sing their love of freedom in clandestine peñas. Exiles also played an important role as spokesmen for their oppressed brethren. And so it was that, in the 1980s, the canto nuevo emerged, which, while constantly dealing with dictatorial censorship, took up the baton, with groups such as Illapu, Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, Napalé and Ortiga. Today, Chilean audiences appreciate these voices, which have never been silenced by the sound of military boots.
Classical music
At the beginning of the 20th century, art music began to take center stage in Chile. Institutions were created, great symphonies were performed and, above all, important figures began to emerge. The doyen was Pedro Humberto Allende (1885-1959). A composer of great influence, Allende was one of the first to lay the foundations of contemporary classical music. His catalog includes orchestral works such as the famous symphonic poem La Voz de las calles, composed in 1920, as well as chamber music and works for piano and guitar. Throughout his career, Allende endeavored to include elements of Chilean tradition and folklore in his creations, and notably wrote numerous tonadas.
Allende's contemporary, Enrique Soro (1884-1954), a classical-romantic pianist and composer considered one of the country's first symphonists, appeared at the same time. Around the 1930s, one of Chile's most prolific classical composers, Pedro Nuñez Navarrete (1906-1989), established himself on the musical scene. A tireless composer, he wrote over 400 works. Last but not least, Gustavo Becerra (1925-2010) was not only a renowned composer, but also a talented teacher who trained some of the country's greatest names (Luis Advis, Sergio Ortega, Fernando García, Cirilo Vila...). Closer to home, we should also mention pianist Sergio Ortega (1938-2003), composer of hyper-popular operas and hymns such as the famous El pueblo unido. After the 1973 coup d'état, Ortega went into exile in France, where he was director of the Ecole Nationale de Musique in Pantin (93).
Recently, the great figure who has taken Chile's reputation around the world is the immense pianist Claudio Arrau (1905-1991). Often considered one of the prodigies of the last century, Arrau is today hailed for the breadth and mastery of his repertoire, equally at home with Baroque and contemporary music. A monument.
And speaking of monuments, one of Chile's leading opera and classical venues is Santiago's Teatro Municipal. Listed as a national heritage site, this beautiful theater hosts concerts by the Philharmonic Orchestra, performances by the Santiago Municipal Ballet and operas. And - cock-a-doodle-doo! - until 2019, it will be directed by Frenchman Frédéric Chambert.
Current music
If you ask the younger generation - or clubbers and electro fans - who the most interesting Chilean musician is, they'll tell you Ricardo Villalobos. A star of minimal techno and micro-house, Villalobos is known for his suave, soaring, sweaty tracks and DJ sets. A star in his field, much like Chilean producers Cristian Vogel, another big name in techno who was signed to the prestigious Trésor Records label, or Luciano, whose career is closely linked to Ibiza's feverish parties.
As for hip-hop, the pioneering group Tiro de Gracia has now given way to names such as Pablo Chill-E and Ana Tijoux. The latter was born in Lille, but made her career in Chile, the country her parents had to leave following the 1973 coup d'état. Other big local names include Tomasa del Real, the queen of neoperreo, a derivative of reggaeton, and Föllakzoid, a krautrock band signed to the excellent American label Sacred Bones. Also worth mentioning are post-punk band FrioLento.
Club La Feria, for great electronic music mixed by top Chilean and foreign DJs; El Tunel, more kitsch in its decor, but with a good program; and Etniko, a trendy restaurant where you can also dance.
