‘Why Discriminate Against the Footprints of our Ancestors?’: Guaraní in the Voices of Paraguayan Female Singers
Music, Meaning and Value in Paraguayan Song - Alfredo C Colman
Romy Martinez [+]
Musician/Royal Holloway University of London
Description
This article focuses on the use of the indigenous Guaraní language in Paraguayan popular song as it is used by some female music interpreters born between the 1930s and 1980s. It analyses two representative Paraguayan music genres: the polca paraguaya and guarania, whose lyrics follow one of three poetic-linguistic forms: Guaraní , Spanish, or Jopará, the latter being a form where words of both languages may be mixed. Through these forms, the lyrics alternate and combine the Indigenous voice with the one introduced during colonization, in turn reflecting how Guaraní seems to constantly transit, to and from, between a position of disdain and value within Paraguayan society. Through analyzing recordings of polkas paraguayas and guaranias, the article identifies three styles of singing adopted by female singers, who include Paraguayan classical folk, Paraguayan folk and Paraguayan pop folk in their repertoires. The analysis is informed by online interviews with several Paraguayan women singers, which reveal significant aspects of their backgrounds and musical influences. It also draws on autoethnographic approaches, building on the author’s own experiences as a music researcher and singer. Within the current context to decolonize academic research, the article brings together distinct voices and sounds, expressed in Paraguayan popular songs, from an under-represented country and its unique language and gender norms.