Shane Gardner

Music 1040
Cultural semester Project
Barbara Shelton
Music and Culture of Argentina
Argentina is the second largest country of South America. With
over 34 million people it ranks as the 33rd most populated country in
the world. Like the United States, Argentina is a country of
immigrants. From the19th to the 20th century many people from
European countries immigrated to Argentina. Spain and Italy had the
highest number of immigrants and today 97% of the population would
be considered white with just 3% Mestizo. Most of the people live in
urban areas and speak Spanish, but Italian, English, German, French
and some indigenous languages are spoken throughout Argentina. The
different groups of people that immigrated to Argentina living together
for generations have helped develop a diverse and rich culture.
Alex is from Argentina and I have known him for four years. I
met him working at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital. I got to know him
because we were the only two BYU fans working on the second floor at
Huntsman. Alex and I now work in South Jordan together for another
University of Utah Hospital Clinic and we are still the only BYU fans
around. I learned a great deal about Alex while interviewing him for
this Assignment.

Alex came to Utah from Argentina in 1989 as a twelve-year-old

boy.
Alex has two younger siblings that were born with cerebral palsy. In
the late 1980s there were not many options for Alexs siblings in where
he lived. Alexs dad read a Readers Digest article about the treatments
for cerebral palsy that were taking place in the United States. His
family had a friend that lived in Utah and she convinced Alexs parents
that Primary Childrens Hospital would be able to provide the medical
care and follow-up treatment that the young children needed. Alex
and his family began trying to raise the money they would need to
move to Utah. Their friends and neighbors helped as well by
organizing fundraisers and asking for donations to help his younger
brother and sister. His family was able to obtain a visa for medical care
to treat the children. After selling all of their possessions and
compiling all of the proceeds from the fundraiser money Alex and his
family were able to move to Utah. They lived with a family friend until
they were able to find a place of their own. The family friend helped
Alex and his family adjust to life in the United States. Alexs younger
siblings were able to get surgery at Primary Childrens Hospital that cut
the nerves and maximized the movement of their limbs. They were
also able to undergo physical therapy and it has improved their
mobility and range of motion.

The biggest difference that Alex noticed when he came to Utah

was the abundance of technology. After a few short years his family
had a computer, color TV, VCR and video games. The other difference
was sports. In Argentina Alex had grown up playing futbol or what
North Americans call soccer, but here in Utah American football was
the most popular sport. Alex learned about the game and began
routing for the BYU Cougars. He also enjoyed learning the game of
basketball and loved to watch the Jazz play on TV.
The biggest challenge that his family faced was the language.
Alex started attending public schools and was part of the ESL program.
It was difficult but he was able learn to speak English fluently. Alex still
speaks Spanish fluently and has used that ability to help him in his
career working in the medical field. Alex and his family were initially
able to stay in the United States due to the medical visa, but through a
long and expensive process they were able to become United States
Citizens.
It is always difficult to define any family unit. No two families are
exactly the same. Argentinian families come in so many different
shapes and sizes but for the most part the Argentinean family structure
is very similar to the structure of families in the United States.
Argentinian parents share the responsibilities of raising children.
Mothers often stay home and manage the house and care for children
while fathers work outside of the home to support the family. Once

children get married they leave their parents house, but often live
nearby. In the National Catholic Reporter article Family Realities
Changing in Argentina it mentions that funerals can take place in a
matter of days because families live so close to one another.
Some of the traditions of Argentina are very different form the
ones here in Utah. It is perfectly acceptable to kiss someone on the
cheek when you greet him or her. Touching someone while talking to
them is also something that is common. The tradition that Alex and his
family have kept while living in Utah is drinking mate. Mate is the
national drink of Argentina. It is a type of tea made from the mate
herb that you drink out of a metal straw.
The music of Argentina is as diverse as the people. In my
opinion the Argentinian music that has had the largest influence in the
United States and the world would be the tango. The tango originated
in the 1880s in the border area between Argentina and Uruguay. It was
a fusion of European and African and Cuban music and dance. The
tango became popular in the port towns of Buenos Ares during the
1930s. At first the dance was considered not proper by the upper
classes, but the working class people loved it and its popularity grew.
The tangos popularity spread throughout the word in the 1930s with
many different surges since then. My first exposure to the tango was
when I saw the action movie True Lies in 1994. The tango has been
featured in many different American movies and television shows.

Barak and Michelle Obama danced the tango earlier this week while
they were in Argentina. When people think of Argentina they think of
the tango.
I chose to include Por una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel because it
is my favorite version of tango music. Translated into English the title
of the song means only by a head. It has to do with a horse race
where the horse that the singer bet on loses by just a head. He regrets
betting on the horses and swears he will not bet anymore but at the
end of the song he admits that if he thinks he has a sure winner he will
make another bet. I think the singer feels the same way about the
women that he is pursuing. The instruments include the violin, guitar
and vocals. Many different musical groups have recorded the song and
it has been featured in popular American movies.
Other music that is popular in Argentina is Argentinian rock,
cumbia and pop. I would say that American music has had a bigger
influence on the popular music of Argentina. Rock and pop music are
popular and very similar to the rock music here in the US. Cumbia is a
type of dance music that became popular in the 1990s. With a strong
beat it is very easy to move and dance to. It is the most popular music
genre of young people. Folk music of Argentina comes from many
different areas and it gets its influence from European and indigenous
sources. There are many different types of folk music that are unique
to the area of Argentina. Northern Argentinean Andean folk music is

influenced by Chile and Bolivia and combines string instruments with

percussion. Charmeme is a type of accordion based folk music that is
popular in the northeastern region of Argentina. Chacarera uses
Spanish guitars and a bombo legero, a traditional wood and sheepskin
drum.
Argentina shares so many similarities with the United States.
The history of immigrants bringing their cultures from all over the
world and adapting and sharing them with the people around them
have given the country a rich and diverse culture. I think that over the
years the United States has had a big influence on the culture of
Argentina but there is no doubt that the music of the tango has had a
great influence on the United States and the world.

Works Cited

The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency n.d. Web. 26. Mar.
2016
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ar.html

Salgado, Soli Family Realities Changing in Argentina National

Catholic Reporter October 9-22 2015 Print.
"Music of Argentina." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The
Free Encyclopedia, 17 Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.