Latin America ends the year with rock ‘n’ roll, salsa, and ballads — listen to how its music captures the spirit of the season
There is music for everyone during December's festivities
Originally published on Global Voices
Illustration by Global Voices
Music for Christmas and New Year's Eve in Latin America is as diverse as its people and landscapes. These songs and musical genres, selected by Global Voices contributors, can be heard on radio stations, on buses, in stores and supermarkets throughout the month of December, and especially at family gatherings on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. We also enjoy them while savoring a holiday dish or observing local customs. Learn about these festive, religious, nostalgic, or political songs from Venezuela, El Salvador, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Ecuador.
El Niño Criollo – Oscar D´León
Added by Estefanía Salazar
There is one song that lets us imagine how the Nativity story would be told in Venezuela, and that is “El Niño Criollo” (The Creole Child). It is a 1962 piece with music by the composer and violinist Luis Morales Bance and lyrics by the architect Isabel Herrera de Umérez.
“If the Virgin were Andean and St. Joseph from the plains, baby Jesus would have been a Venezuelan child”, begins this beautiful aguinaldo, a name given to the songs typical of the Christmas holidays.
Another of its stanzas explains which element would replace the wooden cradle typical of nativity scenes: a hammock or a “chinchorro” as it is known in Venezuela, when they are made of loose and elastic fabric.
Por cuna tendría un chinchorro
chiquito muy bien tejido
y la Virgen mecería al Niño Jesús dormido
For a cradle he would have a small
chinchorro, very well woven
and the Virgin would be rocking the sleeping Baby Jesus
The song carries no other implication except that of its lyrics: a recreation of Christmas within a Venezuelan setting. All audiences can enjoy it, and it is sometimes known by its alternative name: “Aguinaldo Venezolano.”
Listen here to the version of “El Niño Criollo” by Oscar D'León, the world-famous Venezuelan salsa singer.
Villancico del horror – Divididos
Added by Lucía Leszinsky
In Argentina, Christmas celebrations start early. From the early hours of the day, the streets are filled with noise: the synthesizers of cumbia and cuarteto, folkloric voices, some echoing tango, and — because why not — some of the processed voices of trap music. But if there is one thing that rarely fails, especially before midnight dances, it is the chords of an electric guitar accompanying the hustle and bustle of the family dinner.
Argentine rock provides songs that contrast sharply with the typical foreign Christmas carols that speak of love and peace. Just listen to the lyrics of “Papá llegó borracho” (Dad got here drunk) by Ataque 77 or “Navidad negra ”(Black Christmas) by Fito Páez to see that, in Argentina, Christmas wishes sometimes go beyond wishing for happiness.
In 2002, the rock band Divididos released “Vengo del placard del otro,” an album that includes “Villancico del horror” (Horror carol), a song that criticizes Argentina's state of affairs after the economic and social crisis of 2001. With lines such as “Feliz Navidad, explotó el pesebre” (Merry Christmas, the nativity scene exploded) and “Año nuevo, el hombre festeja y el perro escapó” (New Year, man celebrates and the dog escaped), the song alludes to the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa on December 20, 2001, in the middle of a crisis that led him to leave the Casa Rosada by helicopter to avoid the violent confrontations that were taking place in the streets, a few days before Christmas Eve.
While not one of the most popular songs, “Villancico del horror” is one of the best social representations of that time in the country, one that, to a certain extent, could also reflect current issues.
Reyes vagos, no entrega a domicilio porque no hay remise, y un copetín de quejas traído ‘e los pelos.
Lazy kings, there is no home delivery because there are no taxis left, and an endless list of grievances dragged by the ears.
Las Cuatro Fiestas – Diomedes Díaz
Added by Kelly Chaib De Mares
Day of the Little Candles in Colombia. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Throughout Latin America, December 8th is celebrated as the day commemorating the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In Colombia, this date has grown to mark the official beginning of Christmas celebrations. The tradition begins on the night of December 7th with the Day of the Little Candles, when homes and streets are illuminated with candles and lanterns in honor of the Virgin, thus signaling when the lights that will illuminate the entire Christmas season are turned on.
This day is so important that Diomedes Díaz, the late king of vallenato — a Colombian folkloric genre that combines Indigenous rhythms with African influences and Spanish melodies, characterized by its poetic narrative — immortalized this day in his song “Las Cuatro Fiestas” (The Four Parties), one of his Christmas hymns, where he invites listeners to start Christmas festivities on December 8th.
The lyrics describe a vivid image of life along riverbanks, with “bushes and coconut trees” as a backdrop as the “Black fishermen” return to their homes to celebrate the Day of the Little Candles, a prelude to the festivities of Christmas, New Year's and the Barranquilla Carnival. The Carnival of Barranquilla is a tradition that fuses Spanish celebrations brought during colonization along with African and Indigenous influences. It stands out for its masks, costumes and troupes that symbolize the diversity and cultural richness of the region and the country.
Claveles y Rosas – Pamela Cortés y John Peter Vernaza
Added by Gina Yauri
Christmas carols are sung in Loja, the southern city of Ecuador, known as the musical and cultural capital of the country. Before Christmas, the novena takes place: it consists of praying for nine days in different homes before the big party and preparing for the birth of baby Jesus. In each home, people sing carols such as: “Dulce Jesús Mío,” “Ya viene el Niñito,” “Claveles y Rosas,” “En brazos de una Doncella,” “No sé Niño Hermoso,” “Pimpollito del alma” and “Claveles y Rosas.”
These carols have become a tradition in Ecuador and around the world. They were created by the composer Salvador Bustamante Celi, born in Loja in 1876. His musical compositions have been translated into 102 languages.
For example, the Christmas carol “Claveles y Rosas” (Carnations and Roses) has been interpreted by several national artists, such as this one by contemporary singer Javier Neira. In 2013, Pamela Cortés from Quito and John Peter Vernaza from Galapagos, sung this carol on public television. This performance amassed over 339,000 views on YouTube.
Claveles y rosas, la cuna adornad
En tanto que un ángel meciéndole está
Claveles y rosas, la cuna adornad
En tanto que un ángel meciéndole está (…)
Carnations and roses, the cradle adorned
While an angel is rocking him
Carnations and roses, the cradle adorned
While an angel rocking him (…)
Regalo de Reyes – Javier Solís
Added by Isela Xospa
A photo of a posada in Mexico. Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0
In Mexico, the December celebrations begin on December 12th with the national holiday dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. This kickstarts a series of celebrations that includes processions, visits to temples and churches dedicated to her image, songs, music, and parties. The Christmas season culminates on January 6th, the Epiphany.
There are many songs celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe, but the hymn “La Guadalupana” is a classic. It was written by Manuel Esperón and Ernesto Cortázas who authored many important songs and compositions during the Mexico's Golden Age of cinema between 1930–1960.
December 16th marks the beginning of the Posadas, where the streets, houses, neighborhoods, and churches are lit up with twinkling lights, music, and piñatas. These nine days of festivities lead to December 24, the birth of the baby Jesus, with a last posada, supper, and a church service.
La Sonora Santanera, a Mexican band specialized in the tropical genre and influenced by genres of danzón, mambo, bolero, rumba, cha cha cha, guaracha, and cumbia, consolidated its career between the 1960s and 1970s. Despite this, their musical hits, such as “Las Fiestas de Diciembre” (The December Festivities) remain a staple at Christmas celebrations.
Christmas celebrations in Mexico are not always happy or full of dancing, it is also a time when memories, heartbreak and nostalgia creep back. These feelings are captured in many Mexican Christmas melodies such as the ones recorded by Mexican singer and actor Javier Solis: “Regalo de Reyes” (Kings’ Gift) and “Llorarás en Navidad” (You will cry at Christmas).
La Bala – Los Hermanos Flores
Added by Melissa Vida
In El Salvador, when Christmas is near, cumbia music is omnipresent. “La Bala (The Bullet)” by Los Hermanos Flores is one of those classics, a song full of playful humor that gets everyone dancing by telling people what they have to perform.
Mano a la barriga
Una sobadita
Hagan un cola (…)
Put your hand on your belly
Give it a little rub
Everyone go make a queue (…)
The first time Salvadoran band Los Hermanos Flores heard this song was at a private New Year's party for Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza in the late 1960s. La Bala was originally composed by Panamanian songwriter Arturo Hassán, who created many Panamanian classics.
“Nono” Flores, one of the members of the band, told Revista Factum that a couple of years later, he brought back the record of a version of “La Bala” from San Francisco for his father, which he bought for a quarter of a dollar before flying back to El Salvador. Later Nono recorded a cover with his brothers and sister and, in Nono's words, it was “a smash hit.”
For Willian Carballo, a communications researcher, the lyrics of La Bala — “that if you don't dance to it, you can get shot” — communicate an unconscious desire to use humor as a form of resistance during the era of military dictatorships in Central America. The song later remained popular during the civil wars of the 1980s and the onset of gang violence in the 1990s and to this day. He told Revista Factum:
Yo creo que hay algo de resistencia desde el humor, hay algo de resistencia ante esos temas que nos agobian, de contracultura.
I think some resistance can be found in humor, resistance to issues that overwhelm us, some form of counterculture.
Faltan cinco pa’ las doce – Nestor Zavarce
Added by Avishta Seeras
For more than 60 years, the Venezuelan song “Faltan cinco pa’ las doce” (Five minutes ‘fore twelve), by composer Oswaldo Oropeza and performer Néstor Zavarce, both of humble origins, has been the quintessential song to play on December 31. It has become a hymn not only in Venezuela but in many Latin American countries.
While it is not a song that is danced to, it is usually sung with a lot of heart and it is played when there are approximately five minutes left to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. It is sung with warm feelings and sometimes, tears, as it speaks to the love and affection we feel for our mothers.
Me perdonan que me vaya de la fiesta.
pero hay algo, que jamás podré olvidar
una linda viejecita que me espera,
en las noches de una eterna Navidad.
Faltan cinco pa’ las doce,
el año va a terminar
me voy corriendo a mi casa,
a abrazar a mi mamá
Las campanas de la iglesia están sonando,
anunciando que año viejo se va
la alegría de fin de año viene ya
los abrazos se confunden sin cesar.
Forgive me for leaving the party
but there is something, that I can never forget
a pretty old lady who is waiting for me
in the nights of an eternal Christmas.
It's five to midnight,
the year is about to end
I'm running home,
to hug my mother
The church bells are ringing,
announcing that the old year is gone
the joy of new year's eve is upon us
and our hugs are mingling endlessly.
Listen to these songs and more on Global Voices’ Spotify playlist!