PHOTO: David Zavaleta
Application of Dalcroze pedagogy in an intercultural context: the case of Bolivia Karen Pérez Vila (Bolivia) Bolivia is a country located in the heart of South America. It is culturally diverse, so much so that Article 5 of the State Constitution (CPE, 2009, p. 2) recognizes thirty-six official languages. Each ethnic group has its own cultural characteristics. Common to all of them: music. These native peoples have passed their music from generation to generation through an oral transmission mechanism in such a natural way that adults and children of multiple generations could find themselves playing a pinkillada1 or a chovena2 at town festivities without having studied these genres methodically and rigorously. Socially, this music is closely related to dance and events that occur in nature: the productive cycle of the earth, rains, harvests, etc. In the rainy season, they play whistlemouthpiece and single-reed instruments such as tarkas and mohoceños, respectively. On the other hand, in the dry season, bevel instruments3 such as sikus, a type of pan flute, are played (Paye, 2000, p. 1). Around 19524, as a product of the search for a single national identity, the dissemination of non-Spanish cultural heritages and languages was discouraged. It should be noted that music in Bolivia comes from two main sources: pre- and post-Spaniard colonization periods5. Before colonization, the music of native cultures was predominant, with non-standard tunings for wind and percussion instruments, usage of pentatonic scales, performances in large groups, and ritual music (Rosso, 2010, p. 1). These practices have, in spite of colonization, spread in certain urban social groups through the process of métissage (Sigl and Mendoza, 2012, p. 197), as is the case of the sicureada, a musical form performed with sikus.
The pinkillada is a musical and dance form, typical of the Bolivian highlands, belonging to the departments of La Paz, Oruro, and Potosí. (Sigl and Mendoza 2012, p. 660)
2
The chovena is a musical and dance form, typical of eastern Bolivia or the tropical zone (Sigl and Mendoza, 2012, p. 749).
3
It is said that a musical instrument vibrates by bevel when sound is generated by the vibration of expelled or blown air as it hits a sharp, rigid edge or piece called a bevel.
4
“The Chaco War and the 1952 Revolution gave rise to revolutionary nationalism, a movement which sought to affirm the mestizo as the Bolivian national identity.” (Moreno, Vargas & Osorio, 2014, p. 47)
5
With the arrival of the Spanish, “criolla” music was invented. String, wind, and brass instruments were used to create music with half-tones, mixing it with original Bolivian music, which was called folkloric music.
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PHOTO: David Mercado
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DALCROZE CONNECTIONS • WINTER 2021 VOL.6, NO.1 • WWW.DALCROZEUSA.ORG • LATIN AMERICAN ISSUE, PART 1 (ENGLISH)
