Zamba is a typical dance from northwest Argentina.
Zamba is the name given to a genre of music and dance that are characteristic of the northwestern region of Argentina . The zamba is part of what is known as Argentine folklore .
Derived from the zamacueca , a style originating in Peru , the zamba can have a time signature of 6/8 , 3/4 or a combination of both. In the dance , the choreography combines three figures: the arrest , the half turn and the full turn , which involve different movements of the members of the dance couple.
famous zambas
Songs that follow this rhythm are known as zambas. “Alfonsina y el mar” , “Zamba de mi Esperanza” and “Zamba de Vargas” are some of the best-known zambas from the Argentine popular songbook.
However, they are not the only known zambas that have become truly important in Argentine and world culture. We are referring to others such as “Añoralgias” by Les Luthiers ; “Blanco y azul” by Mercedes Sosa ; “El Paraná in a zamba” by Jaime Dávalos and “Zamba de Juan Panadero” by Manuel J. Castilla and Gustavo Cuchi Leguizamón .
Classification according to type
It is also important to know that within zamba there are several modalities. In this way, for example, there is the so-called zamba carpera , which is identified by having a lighter rhythm and because the bandoneon plays a fundamental role in its music.
This without overlooking the fact that they also talk about the zamba alegría , which was developed at the beginning of the 20th century . It is identified because the couple dances it loosely and because it has two movements, sixteen bars of zamba, as many of cat and twelve final bars. It is important that the dancers carry castanets and a scarf.
A zamba was a mixed-race woman who descended from a black father and an Aboriginal mother or from an Aboriginal father and a black mother.
Zamba as a mestizo woman
It is important to note that the term zamba comes from the time of the European colonies in America . Europeans called mestizo women who descended from a black father and an Aboriginal mother or from an Aboriginal father and a black mother , while men in the same situation were called zambos.
The concept arises from the divisions into races or castes that the conquerors imposed on the American continent. The children of couples formed by African slaves (or their descendants) and Native Americans, in this context, were the zambos, numerous in Colombia , Brazil , Venezuela , Panama and other countries.
Currently, the nation with the largest Zamba population is Panama . Certain regions of Ecuador , Colombia and Brazil , on the other hand, also have numerous Zambo inhabitants.
Person with a strange gait
In the same way, we cannot ignore that zamba is also a word that is used as an adjective to refer to a person who walks strangely since his knees are very close together and his legs are too far apart .
When used with this meaning, we have to state that the term zamba has its etymological origin in the Latin word strambus , which can be translated as cross-eyed and which, in turn, derives from Greek. In this specific case of the word strephein , which means “to twist.”