Cachimbo Link to Compositions >>
The Cachimbo is definitely the least recognized of the dances for which I have chosen to write for. It is very lively, full of energy and rather short (It usually lasts no more than two minutes). Margot Loyola published a formidable work on the Cachimbo in 1994 based on research she conducted between 1966 and 1992. During this time, she met with and interviewed some of the greatest proponents of the genre in the area around Tarapacá, and the cities of Pica, Matilla, Macaya, and Mamiña.
Origins
According to Loyola’s theory, the Cachimbo was brought to Pica in the first or second decade of the 1900s. She defines it as a:
“regional dance from Tarapacá, with a flirty character, influenced by the zamacueca from the south of America”.
Excerpts from some of the interviews in Loyola’s book that endorse her theory:
Gladis Albarracín de Méndez, born in Tarapacá, wrote the following definition:
“This dance was born under the name of “dance and earth” in the 19th century in the historic town of Tarapacá… it was a gentlemanly, slow, and serious dance. After the war in 1879, the dance changed its name to Cachimbo, maintaining the same characteristics but more agile, more joyful”.
There is a general consensus among musicologists that the Cachimbo was born in Tarapacá, noting that up until the year 1879, this region actually belonged to Peru. (Until the Pacific War between Peru, Bolivia and Chile caused the change of geography in this region that we still see to this day).
Don Maximiliano Pereira Pacha, farmer and musician, born in Poroma in 1899, related the following to Loyola in an interview that took place in 1982…
“Cachimbo, traditional dance from the province of Tarapacá, born from the “dance and earth” in the year 1914. It is vivacious to watch and listen to…The woman is the one who leads the dance while the man follows… “dance and earth” is the oldest dance from Tarapacá and it has words. The Cachimbo has an instrumental melody but it doesn’t have words. They both have the same movement, the same air, but different music…”
Front page of the book "El Cachimbo" by
Margot Loyola
Instrumentation
The instruments used to perform the Cachimbo are now quite varied, but in the beginning they were almost exclusively guitars, violins and clarinets, although depending on the region, band instruments or zampoñas and quenas may have been included. At present and due in large part to transcriptions made by Loyola, it is possible to find arrangements for solo piano, making it some of the most formidable and energetic folkloric music available today. The bombo (a hollowed out tree trunk with deer or goatskin stretched across it, and the most common form of folkloric percussion instrument used throughout the region) is now the preferred tool used to accompany the dance. (The dance is written in 3/4) The end of the heavy drumstick used to perform on the bombo marks the second and third beat of the measure while the wooden part (the actual drumstick itself) hits the rim of the drum marking other syncopated configurations. (The variations depend on the region in which it is being performed.)
Pattern to follow with the bombo
Structure
The dance is made up of three sections (It is important to remember that the Cachimbo doesn’t have words). Traditionally, the introduction can range from between eight and sixteen measures and is used to outline the tonality. The first phrase is eight measures long (two four measure phrases that are repeated) and has a characteristic unique to the style called the “base”.
The “base”
The second section is made up of two eight bar phrases for a total of sixteen. This takes us to the last section which is called the “Toreo”. This portion is characterized by its fast exchange of dance moves, its increased length and escalation in speed.
Julio Arroyo says the following about the dance:“In the Toreo the objective is for the man to tire the woman or for the woman to tire the man”.
Irma Zegarra related the following:
“The final Toreo was long, very long; the one who resisted the most was the best dancer….”
Listen to “Cachimbo” (Margot Loyola)
This is a very attractive dance and easily adaptable to the harmonic and rhythmic characteristics of the guitar.
Comments about the Compositions
General Guideline
To be able to play these pieces correctly one must understand the technique of the “apagado” used during the execution of the “rasgueo” or strum.
(See Sergio Sauvalle, técnicas de la guitarra chilena- pages 4 and 5).
In flamenco music, there are more than forty toques, or palos (styles). Each one of them contains a “base” or a type of refrain (“falseta”) that has its own rhythmic, melodic and harmonic characteristics, making it instantly recognizable as being from these styles. A flamenco guitarist will repeat this “base” between three and five times per piece giving it a very intimate and personal touch that defines not only the toque, but also the performer’s style.
It can be concluded that the Cachimbo contains something very similar to this element of flamenco music (a style to which our South American music so closely relates). The melodic twists and turns or “base” which make up the dance are unmistakable and are included in each one of the following three pieces.
| Cachimbo I | “de atrás pa’ca” | Audio |
| Cachimbo II | “Color de fuego” | Audio |
| Cachimbo III | “De baile y tierra” | Audio |
“de atrás pa´ca” (Cachimbo I)
There is no introduction to this piece so the theme (or “base”) appears immediately and spans the first eight bars. The melody is slightly altered from what is considered a typical folkloric line and the harmonies used in the accompaniment are what can be termed “non-traditional”. This first section contains 32 measures, followed by another 16, (keeping with traditional formal structure) and ending with the Toreo (a two measure motif) which is repeated four times and where characteristically, the performer is encouraged to vary or makes changes to the tempo within the bar.
There are two recorded versions of this piece. The first one is performed at what is by and large, a normal Cachimbo tempo. The second one is played much faster. Although the latter version is a little removed from the original intent of the dance, this new speed does in fact make the piece much more enjoyable to perform! In both versions, and as it should be with each of the Cachimbos that follow, it is absolutely essential that the tempos not be rushed. (Notwithstanding the Toreo of course!)
Duration: (version I: 1.35; version II: 1.19)
Guitarist: Eugenio González.
“Color de fuego” (Cachimbo II)
This piece is written in a very uncommon tonality for the guitar: B flat minor (One must take advantage of all the tonalities the instrument has to offer…)
The melodic lines used here are, on the whole very traditional and evoke the original characteristics and movements of the dance. There are exceptions in the introduction (first 24 measures) where a few alterations in the scale produce some augmented and diminished intervals. There is also a change of meter in measure 13, something that never happens in the folkloric idiom, but is employed here to give more variation to the rhythm. This first part is better suited to a livelier tempo.
Tradition is maintained from measure 25 forward by using conventional rhythmic and harmonic movements. The previously explained “base” (measures 25 through 32) remains very close to the original style with the exception of a “hybrid” chord at the beginning of measure 27 that is used to give the harmony a more refreshing color.
Again, the first section does have alterations that may appear to take the music slightly out the tonality but they should not be considered modulations, only small “effects” meant to provide for a richer and more interesting harmony. These first 32 measures (excluding the introduction) faithfully follow the structure of a traditional Cachimbo.
When the “base” returns again in measures 41 through 48, it remains essentially the same with the exception of a small bridge introduced in measures 49 through 52. The remainder of the second part uses very conventional melodies not withstanding some chromatic re-harmonization in measures 59, 65, and 66 used to generate a more interesting color.
In the Toreo (measure 69), some alternatives have been provided, as the written passages may prove a little uncomfortable for the performer.
Duration: 1.48
Guitarist: Eugenio González.
“De baile y tierra” (Cachimbo III)
This, the third and final piece based on the Cachimbo, was meant to be composed closest in character to the original dance. It begins with a very traditional introduction running from measures 1 through 24 followed by the first thematic entry in measure 25. Although “traditional”, some of the sonorities used in re-harmonizing the lines may lean toward jazz, especially in bars 28 through 35. Finally, in measure 38 the performer must be sure, once again, to employ the “pinza” technique to maintain the original character of the genre and the performance practice of Chilean folkloric guitar music. (See técnicas, Sergio Sauvalle, page 4).
Some of the re-harmonized chords may have a sound that parts slightly from tradition, but in no way is the intention to stray from or diminish the clarity of the line or style. It is suggested that this, the last of these three pieces, be performed in a comfortable tempo that allows it to have a festive and rousing air.
These three pieces are dedicated to Margot Loyola Palacios, considered the
“Absolute emperor of Chile and its songs” (Pablo Neruda).
Duration: 2.14
Guitarist: Eugenio González.