Recording Studio: Venezuela is known for its own salsa, merengue and other imported styles, as well as the distinct joropo and llanero music. Salsa, while originally imported, has produced the global superstar, Oscar D’León.
The recording studio music varies from a region to another. The joropo is a form of traditional Venezuelan music. It is performed in the whole country and it possesses its own attributes according to the region: joropo llanero, power station and oriental. The meringue is found in Caracas, Lara and Cumaná. The central fulía is in Miranda, Federal District and Aragua; the oriental fulía in Anzoátegui, Monagas, New Esparta and Sucre. The polka is in Lara, Barinas, Sucre, Trujillo, Táchira, Hurry and Bolivar. The recording studio bambuco is in Táchira, Merida, Trujillo, Lara, Zulia, Federal District and Vargas. The furro bagpipe and tambora are in the Zulia. The calipso is in Bolivar. And the tamunangue is in Lara.
Recording Studio: Joropa
The national dance is the joropo. This genre from the plains is perhaps the Venezuelan music known best outside the country is the joropo. A joropo can be an event at which the music is performed, the music itself, or the dance that accompanies it. Variants of it include corrido, galerón, golpe, and pasaje. There is also the revuelta, which denotes an extended version of a pasaje, although the terms are sometimes used to refer to the same piece; and hornada, which refers to a medley of revueltas or pasajes. The joropo is fast-paced and permits polyrhythmic improvisation on the part of the performers. The leading instrument is the arpa llanera, or plains harp, accompanied by a cuatro and maracas. The singer, who carries the melody in tandem with the harp, does not play an instrument.
On the central coast, the joropo ensemble is smaller, reduced to a harp or bandola and a singer who plays maracas. The music, incorporating some of the African tradition of the area, differs from the plains style in that verses are shorter and more repetitive with more improvisation. In the state of Lara, the golpe –a different kind of joropo— is performed with an instrumentation that includes a cinco and a tambora; or a violin or guitar and a large drum.
Recording Studio: Meringue
Recording Studio Merengue is originally from the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela heartily supports local Latin pop acts like Billo’s Caracas Boys, Porfi Jiménez Orchestra and Los Melódicos. The Venezuelan merengue is different from its more famous counterpart, The Venezuelan calypso, which reflects the closeness of Trinidad and Tobago and, beyond them, the other Caribbean islands.
