Taino instruments: The Heritage and Culture of Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rico’s Musical Instruments |
1. | The Puerto Rico Classroom Music Handbook by the Connecticut State Department of Education may be obtained at the New Haven Public. School Bilingual Office. This is an excellent resource for students. |
2. | Have students listen to “Folk Songs of Latin American”; this may be obtained from the New Haven Public Schools Audiovisual Department. |
3. | At Truman School we have several of the musical instruments available. Have students observe some. (Several of our bilingual teachers have these instruments). |
4. | Research: Have students describe popular musical instruments in Puerto Rico (Guiro, Maracas, Caracol, Drum or Maquey, Cauatro, Tiple, Bordonua, Tres, Guitar, Bomba Drums, Congas, Clave, The Plena Drum, Timbales, Bony Drums, Cencerro (Cos Bell) and Tambora. |
5. | Invite parents and community members to class to demonstrate music and dance of Puerto Rico. Specifically: the Danza, La Bomba, Plena, Seis, Decima and Aguinaldos. |
6. | Have students write biographies of famous Puerto Rican Composers. Rafael Aponte Ledee, Noel Estrada, Jesus Figueroa, Pedro Flores, Rafael Hernandez, Manuel Jimenez “Canario”, Ladislao Martinez, Angel Mislan, Juan Morel Campos, Sylvia Rexach, Felipe Rosario Goyco, “Don Felo” and Myrta Sylva. |
7. | Have students learn a few Puerto Rican Songs and dances. These will be included in the assembly program for Puerto Rico Discovery Day. |
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National Museum of American History
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- Description
- A traditional instrument of the Taínos, the unusual güiro is made from the seed pod of the native flamboyán, also know as the flame tree. It is played by scraping the carved ridges with the tines of a special pick or scraper.
- Description (Spanish)
- Instrumento tradicional de los Taínos, habitantes originales de Puerto Rico. El güiro se hace con el fruto del higüero, Crescentia cujete, que es un árbol nativo de la región. Se ejecuta pasando un puyero o raspador contra las ranuras talladas en el frente.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- güiro
- Date made
- 20th century
- Place Made
- Puerto Rico
- Physical Description
- gourd (overall material)
- wood (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 27. 7 cm x 9 cm x 7.7 cm; 10 7/8 in x 3 9/16 in x 3 1/16 in
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1074
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1074
- Credit Line
- Gift of Teodoro Vidal
- subject
- Puerto Rico
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Ethnic
- Music & Musical Instruments
- Cultures & Communities
- Vidal
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Guiro and its varieties – Radio Orpheus (Moscow 99.2 FM)
- March 3, 2021
In accordance with the requirements of the RAO, the player does not allow you to stop, rewind or download recordings.
The collection of the Museum of Music presents percussion instruments from all over the world, including some very exotic ones.
Takov guiro is a Cuban noise musical instrument. It has been known in Europe since the end of the 18th century. Translated from Spanish, “guiro” means a bottle of gourd (or an oblong gourd). The word comes from the language of the Taino Indians who inhabited the Antilles before European colonization. nine0009
Traditional guiro is made from the dried gourd “calabaza”, the fruit of the calabash or gourd tree, known in Cuba and Puerto Rico as “higuero”. The tree grows in Central and South America; also found in West Africa and tropical Asia. Mature fruits of the calabash tree have a fairly strong shell – therefore, not only utensils for storing food are made from them, but also musical instruments: maracas and guiro.
Usually, transverse grooves are cut on one side of the guiro body, across which the musician (most often the singer) drives a stick or scraper, extracting chirring, crumbly noise sounds. Modern guiros may also have two ribbed surfaces. Sometimes the guiro is decorated with complex ornaments, giving the instrument a sculptural shape – for example, snakes, or frogs with convex triangles on their backs. nine0009
Guiro is popular in Cuba, the Caribbean, Peru and Puerto Rico. Modern instruments are made not only from igüero fruit, but also from plastic, wood or metal. They may look like a metal cylinder with notches or tubercles, or a corrugated wooden plank. The collection of the Museum of Music has both varieties.
Guiro has its own name in every country. For example, in Venezuela it is a charrasca, it is made of metal, in Mexico it is a razor, it is made from a wooden bar in the form of a flat snake with a ribbed back. The raspador is modeled after a pre-Columbian instrument. These instruments arrived at the Museum not so long ago. Charrasca was donated by the Embassy of Venezuela in Russia, and the raspador was donated by the Embassy of Mexico. nine0009
Guiro is used in ritual ceremonies and during the performance of folk songs, but is especially widely used in dance orchestras. In the Dominican dance, the merengue often sounds like a metal guiro, which has a sharper, grinding sound. In modern Latin American dances – salsa and cha-cha-cha – both wooden and traditional pumpkin guiro are used. In the performance of cha-cha-cha music, the guiro is the main instrument that emphasizes the rhythm of the dance.
The sound of the guiro is easily distinguishable in songs due to the specific crackle it makes. However, in a salsa orchestra, the guiro is played so fast that it can be difficult for an unaccustomed ear to distinguish this musical instrument from the general sound mass. nine0009
Rare instruments are the living history of music.
N.V. Mileshina
More interesting information can be found on the website of the Russian National Museum of Music.
Concert of young Vasily Safonov
The fund of the pianist, teacher, conductor, director of the Moscow Conservatory Vasily Safonov is one of the largest in the collection of the Museum of Music. In the list of personal funds, he was rightfully assigned the first number. One of the valuable documents tells about the beginning of the musician’s career. nine0009
Santur
Santur is a stringed percussion musical instrument, a type of cymbal. It is common in many countries of the East, but is most widely used in the traditional music of Iran.
Portrait of Andrei Osipovich Sikhra
Music lovers are well aware of the name of Andrei Osipovich Sikhra, a virtuoso, composer, teacher, propagandist of the Russian seven-string guitar.
Iberostar Tainos 4* (Cuba, Varadero)
Situated on the north coast of Cuba, the family-run Iberostar Tainos All Inclusive enjoys a prime location by the turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the sandy beach of Varadero, over 22 km long and only a few steps north of Bahia de Cardenas. Varadero city center is about 18 km away, while Matanzas is about 54 km away. The well-designed building is decorated in the style of a Caribbean village, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. Children will love the mini club, children’s pool and playground, while their parents and other guests will appreciate the wellness center with sauna and massages. Numerous sports facilities allow you to stay active during your holiday, several restaurants offer a variety of delicious dishes, including traditional Cuban Creole food. An ideal place for couples and families with children.
As a result of local government measures and guidelines put in place by services providers – including hotels and ancillaries – guests may find that some facilities or services are not available. Please visit https://static-sources.s3-eu-west-1 .amazonaws.com/policy/index.html for further information
Due to the pandemic, many accommodation and service providers may implement processes and policies to help protect the safety of all of us. This may result in the unavailability or changes in certain services and amenities that are normally available from them. More info here https://cutt.ly/MT8BJcv
As of February 6, 2021, Present a negative PCR result 72 hours before, a second PCR will be performed in Cuba. You will have to remain in isolation until you receive this result.