Music of Panama - AH Smeets

Panama is a Central American country, inhabited mostly by mestizos (persons of mixed African, European and indigenous ancestry). The music of Panama was influenced first by the indigenous populations of Kunas, Teribes, Nobe Bugle and others, and then by the black population who were brought over, first as slaves from Africa, and also Colombia between the 16th century and the 19th century, and then voluntarily (especially from Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Trinidad, Saint Lucia) to work on the Panamanian Railroad and Canal projects between the 1840s and 1914.

With this heritage, Panama has a rich and diverse music history, and important contributions to Cumbia, Saloma, Pasillo, Punta, Tamborito, Mejorana, Bolero, Jazz, Salsa, Reggae, Calypso, Rock and other musical genres.

The Saloma and Mejorana feature a distinctive vocal style said to derive from Sevillians. The most important native instruments used to play these musics are the mejoranera, a five-stringed guitar accompanying songs called mejoranas as well as torrentes, and the rabel, a violin with three strings used to play cumbias, puntos and pasillos in the central provinces of Coclé, Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas.
Cumbia

Closely related to its more well-known Colombian cousin, Panamanian cumbia, especially amanojá and atravesao styles, are domestically popular. Another important music is punto and the salon dances like pasillo, danza and contradanza. During the nineteenth and 20th centuries, the Pasillo music was very popular.

A folk dance, called tamborito is very popular. Danced by men and women in costumes, the tamborito is led by a cantalante, a female lead singer, who is backed by a clapping chorus (the "estribillo") that sings four-line stanzas of copla (a lyrical form related to Spanish poetry) as well as three drums.


A somewhat similar genre called congo is popular among the black communities of the northern coast in Costa Arriba, which includes Portobelo, a province of Colón; it is distinguished by using upright drums and wild, lascivious movements and lyrics.
Tipico

Contemporary popular Panama folkloric music is generally called música típico, or pindín, which since the 1940s has included instruments such as the guiro, conga and especially the accordion, among others. Some famous Panamanian artists in this genre are Ulpiano Vergara, Lucho De Sedas y Juan De Sedas, Dorindo Cárdenas, Victorio Vergara, Roberto "Papi" Brandao, Nenito Vargas, Yin Carrizo, Abdiel Núñez, Manuel de Jesús Abrego, and Samy y Sandra Sandoval, just to name a few.


Panama's leading salsa musician, Ruben Blades, has achieved international stardom, after collaborating with other local musicians like Rómulo Castro and Tuira. Other world famous musicians from Panama included Luis Russell, who played with Louie Armstrong in the 1920s, Mauricio Smith, a noted saxophone and flute player who played with Chubby Checker, Charles Mingus, Dizzy Gillespie, Machito and Mongo Santamaría, among others. Victor "Vitin" Paz, a pillar of the Latin jazz trumpet, was a cornerstone of the Fania All Stars for many years.


Meanwhile, Panama has a long history in jazz, beginning with Luis Russell, pianist, composer and director, who travel to New Orleans in 1919 and made important contributions. By the 1940s the port city of Colón boasted at least ten local jazz orchestras. Legends of Jazz in Panama included pianist and composer Victor Boa, Bassist Clarence Martin, Singer Barbara Wilson and French Horn player John "Rubberlegs" McKindo. This Jazz legacy was recently reinvigorated when the US-based Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez organized the first Jazz Festival in January 2004.


Panama also boasts a vibrant history of Calypso and Mento music sung by nationally well-known musicians such as Lord Panama, Delicious, Two-Gun Smokey, Lady Trixie, Lord Kitty, and Lord Cobra and the Pana-Afro sounds.


By the 1960s, local doo-wop groups were evolving into what became known as the Combos Nacionales, five to ten musician groups using electric instruments and incorporating the diverse sounds of jazz, calypso, salsa, vallenato, doo wop, soul and funk. Famous Combos Nacionales included The Silvertones, The Exciters, The Fabulous Festivals, The Beachers, The Soul Fantastics, Los Mozambiques, The Goombays, Los Juveniles, Roberto y su Zafra and Bush y sus Magnificos. By 1970, the dynamic Combos Nacionales sound dominated Panamanian popular music, only winding down toward the late 1970s.

Reggae en Español originated in Panama, known as Spanish Reggae is very popular among youth, and spawned the Spanish language dancehall also known as Reggae en Español (Spanish dancehall) style known as the predecessor to Reggaeton, which originated with such artists as El General, Nando Boom, Renato, Aldo Ranks, Kafu Banton, Jam & Suppose, and Chicho Man, before becoming popular in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and eventually amongst youth in the United States. As of 2006, Panama has become a major source and contributor to reggaeton and, especially as Reggaeton from Panama is on the rise and continues to dominate charts in the United States and abroad.

Reggae influences in Panama have also spawned several popular Reggae Roots bands, such as Pureza Natural, Raices y Cultura, Inspiración Mística, Panta Rey, among others.

A thriving and very popular Rock en español scene has produced such groups as Orquesta Garash, Radicales Libres, Filtro Medusa, Skamilonga, Los Rabanes, Xantos Jorge, Cage 9, Factor VIII, Os Almirantes, Nervial, Los 33, Señor Loop, Roba Morena, Out-Reazon, Lemmiwinks, Skraped Knees, Calibre 57 just to name a few.

This list would not be complete without mentioning Pedro Altamiranda and his historically popular music spanning several generations and political moments. Many popular phrases and slang used in Panama are lyrics from Altamiranda's songs.

Composer
Vicente Gómez Gudiño, pasillo
César Alcedo, pasillo
José Luis Rodríguez Vélez, cumbia, bolero, pasillo
Rodrigo Escobar Tamayo, cumbia, décimas, pasillo, vallenato
Carlos Cedeño, cumbia
Carlos Cleghorn, cumbia
Didio Borrero, cumbia, bolero
Mavin Moreno, cumbia
Ricardo Fábrega, bolero, pasillo
Eduardo Charpentier, pasillo
Alberto Galimany, pasillo
Luis "Lucho" Azcárraga, pindín
Ruben Blades, salsa
Omar Alfano, salsa
Lord Panama, calypso
Nando Boom, reggae
Luis Russell, jazz, swing
Danilo Perez, jazz
Roque Cordero, classical
Samuel Robles, classical (website)
Emiliano Pardo, classical (website)
Andrés Carrizo, Classical

Music Director
Aurelio Escudero
José Luis Rodríguez Vélez
Armando Boza
Luciano Muñóz
Luis Russell

Singers
Flex, reggaeton
Makano, reggaeton
Barbara Wilson, jazz
Sandra Sandoval, pindín
Catalina "Catita" Carrasco, cumbia
Lucho De Sedas

Accordion
Rogelio "Gelo" Córdoba
Ulpiano Vergara
Juan De Sedas
Dorindo Cárdenas
Victorio Vergara
Yin Carrizo
Samy Sandoval
Osvaldo Ayala
Ceferino Nieto
Roberto "Fito" Espino
Papi Brandao
Alfredo Escudero
Isaac De León

Trumpet
Victor "Vitin" Paz

Mejoranera
Juan Andrés Castillo

Organist
Luis "Lucho" Azcárraga

Guitar
Emiliano Pardo Tristán
Daniel Ritter

Violin
Samuel Ramos
Clímaco Batista