Review: [untitled]

Author(s): Pablo Vila

Reviewed work(s): Cuarteto Music and Dancing from Argentina: In Search of the Tunga-Tunga
in Córdoba by Jane L. Florine
Source: Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, Vol. 25, No. 2
(Autumn - Winter, 2004), pp. 242-248
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3598731
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Reviews

JANE L. FLORINE.CuartetoMusicand Dancingfrom Argentina:In Searchof the

Tunga-Tunga in Cordoba.Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2001.
Two appendices, bibliography, discography, videography, 368 pp. ISBN:
0-8130-2086-5.

Jane Florine has written a very interesting book about one of the most
important regional popular musics of Argentina: CuartetoCordobes. If Ar-
gentine music is well known for genres like tango, folk, and rocknacional,
regional music such as cuartetosis less well known. Therefore, Florine's
book is a welcome addition to a corpus that still is in its infancy: the
ethnomusicological study of Argentine popular music.
The book startswith chapter 1, Introduction, in which Florine presents
the setting in which cuartetotakes place (C6rdoba's province), her theoreti-
cal background, and the organization of the book. Six chapters ("The His-
tory and Musical Evolution of Cuarteto,""AnEthnographic Account of the
CuartetoWorld,""Dancing Cuarteto-Style," "Power, Decision-Making, and
Innovation in the Evolution of Musical Style," "CarlosJimenez and the
Process of Musical 'Change',"and "The CuartetoWorld Revisited: C6rdoba
in 1998") are followed by two appendices, a bibliography, a discography,
and a list of the videocassettes that are available on the genre.
According to Florine, "cuarteto fits into a newer type of 'people's musics,'
such as bachata,brega,and chicha,that developed in Latin America in the
1960s with the onset of migration, urbanization, and industrialization"(4).
For that reason, in the introductionthe authorfamiliarizesus with the history
of C6rdoba to set the stage to study cuartetoas the music of the internal mi-
grants to C6rdoba city. Florine also warns us that the most importantgoal of
her studyis to understandthe "roleof individualinnovationin musicalchange"

Latin AmericanMusicReview,Volume 25, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2004

? 2004 by the University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819
 Reviews: 243

(12).Therefore we are not dealing here with a book about cuartetosingeneral,

but about how innovation occurs in the genre.
In chapter 2 Florine describes the social and musical history of cuarteto,
taking into account the ethnic, racial, and political elements that have influ-
enced its development (18).In this chapterFlorine concentrateson the music
of the genre and points out that cuarteto music's historyhas six periods: 1943-
54, 1955-68, 1969-73, 1974-75, 1976-81, and 1982 to the present. The origin
of the genre is linked to the "arrivalof heavy industryin the city of C6rdoba
and the internal migration that came with it" (25). The second period in
cuartetohistory witnesses the influence of tropical music in the genre. "With
the return to Peronism to Argentina [1974-75], cuartetomusic made great
strides"and a more "modem"version of the style developed (30). During the
last Argentine dictatorship (1976-83), cuarteto(like protest music and rock
nacional)was officiallybanned. "Althoughcuartetoenthusiastssometimes had
to outsmartthe militaryby surreptitiouslypublicizing their dances and hold-
ing them secretly, cuarteto continued strong"(31).In the currentperiod cuarteto
has gained nationalpopularityand Carlos "LaMona" (The monkey)Jimenez
has become its most importantrepresentative.
Regarding the musical evolution of the genre, Florine points out that
little remains of the original style of cuartetotoday, except an updated ver-
sion of the rhythmic foundation (the tunga-tunga) "over which standardtex-
tures are used to create three umbrella styles: moderno,tropical, and
cuarteto-cuarteto. Although these three styles sound quite different, it is the
presence of the tunga-tunga, which is needed by dancers, that makes them all
cuarteto" (35). The rest of the chapter is dedicated to a meticulous analysis of
the instrumentation,form, and texture;melodic and harmonicfeatures;rhyth-
mic elements; and the lyrics of the original and current cuartetostyles.
In chapter3 the authorgives an ethnographicaccount of the cuarteto world.
Here Florine describes the roles of owners, arrangers,singers,musicians,and
announcers; as well as the different activities of cuartetogroups: rehearsals,
recordings,and live performances.A sub-headerentitled "Lifein the Cuarteto
world"describesbriefly (andvery superficiallyto my taste)the role of women
in which the word "prostitutes"is used often in a way that should not have
been the case in a post-feministkind of intellectualclimate. The same lack of
sociological sensitivity is true when she describes the attendees of Carlos
Jimenez dances as "themost economically disadvantagedsectors of the city,
such as prostitutes,transvestites,and criminals"(115).
Acknowledging the fact that Florine's goal is to describe the process of
musical innovation in cuarteto,and not cuartetoas a social movement, I still
find this chapter to be the least appealing of the entire book. For instance,
what does it mean to claim, as Florine does, that "dancers uniformly say
that they go to dance events to have a good time, to experience alegria?"
(114). At least some ethnographic research should have been necessary to
know what cuarteteros understand by "alegria."Instead the author provides
244 : Reviews

her own explanations of why people attend cuartetodances, some of them

very clever, but still the author's and not her informant's perspective. In
this regard perhaps Florine is absolutely right that "dancing around and
around hypnotically in a counter-clockwise motion, always using the same
steps, helps fans to lose themselves in the music; it also enhances their
feeling of participation and communion" (114),but I would have preferred
some interview excerpts to give me a clue that the participantsthemselves
are experiencing what Florine claims they are. As a disclaimer we have to
consider that Florine did not promise an ethnographic work on cuarteto
fans, but a book on musical innovation on cuartetomusic, something that
she clearly delivers.
In chapter 4 Florine describes how the genre is danced, but she also
gives us valuable information about the interaction between the musicians
and the public during those dances. It is very revealing to know that band
members are required to socialize with the public during breaks: "Although
they might go to the bar to get a drink during breaks, band members are
still 'working' while they are not performing" (134). This close contact be-
tween musicians and the public is one of the most important clues to un-
derstand the popularity of cuartetos.Obviously, Florine is at her best when
she circumscribes her study to musicological matters, and her analysis of
cuartetodancing is exhaustive and revealing. Reading this chapter one can
really imagine how people dance the tunga-tunga.The author interestingly
points out that the standard tunga-tungastep is adjusted to the speed and
the character of the music that is being danced. Therefore, when

slower moderno tunes are performed,for example,the basic step is turned

into a "rock"one; the same steps are used, but they become more elegant
thanbefore.In fast tropical
songs,althoughthe same stepsareused, the feet
mustbe used in a more brusqueand agitatedfashion.(140)

A very interesting sub-headeris "Dance Etiquette,"where Florine describes

the unspoken rules of conduct that govern the dance floor. For instance,
it is an unspokenrulethatgirlsshouldnot breakinto circlesformedby other
girlsor by groupsof people they do not know ... thereis no corresponding
rulefor men ... if a youngman sees a girlthathe likes,he mightbreakinto
her circleandplacehimselfrightnext to her.His next stepwouldthenbe to
try to lureher out of her circlein orderto couple-dancewith her. (152)
Describing "The Ritual Function of Cuarteto,"Florine contends that,
"Cuartetodances are in truth rituals in which participants are transported
to another world beyond that of reality; ritual space, ritual objects, ritual
time, ritual sound and language, ritual identity, and ritual action are all a
part of them" (153). In this part of the chapter Florine briefly (and, once
again, superficially)describes some of the ritual elements that characterize
the genre. I think that only one page of analysis of cuartetorituals does not
 Reviews : 245

provide enough ethnographic evidence for the author to claim that "ex-
treme repetition of short rhythmic and/or harmonic units, such as those
found in the tunga-tunga,can lead to feelings of euphoria, transcendence,
collective dying, or merging with the universe via the heightened right-
brain activity which occurs as a result" (154-55).
In chapter 5 Florine analyses the group dynamics and cultures of six
cuartetobands: Chebere, La Band del "Negro" Videla, Tru-la-la, Gary,
Santamarina,and Carlitos "LaMona"Jimenez. One of the most important
goals of this chapter is to show that "individualgroup members are subject
to power relationships which affect their access to musical decision-mak-
ing processes and personal contributions" (19). Florine found in her study
that bands in which the owners are the major decision-makers, and the
group members have little access to musical decision-making (Santamarina
and La Banda del "Negro"Videla), are "the most intellectually and hierar-
chically run of the six groups as well as the two bands of the six that attract
the smallest number of followers" (204). To the contrary,the bands in which
group decision-making processes are evident (Gary andJimenez) "areboth
the ones that draw the biggest audiences and the ones in which band mem-
bers openly express satisfaction with their owners and their ability to be
creative" (204). Florine concludes the chapter pointing out "it would ap-
pear that group cohesion and contentment in cuartetobands are the result
of a democratic management style, the power to be able to contribute and
create in one's band, and a love of performing cuartetomusic" (204). The
epitome of this type of band is, not by chance, the band of Carlitos "La
Mona" Jimenez, because, according to Florine his democratic manage-
ment style allows band members extensive access to processes of musical
decision-making, and as a result, "to make personal contributions and in-
novations that can lead to changes in musical style" (200).
Chapter 6 is devoted to Argentina's most important cuartetogroup, the
band of Carlos "La Mona"Jimenez, and its process of music innovation.
Florine takes advantage of two unusual circumstances (one created by her
own presence in the field) to analyze the behind-the-scene process that
leads to the introduction of innovations in cuartetomusic. The first is the
release by Jimenez of a highly innovative compact disc, Raza Negra,in
which the singer daringly combined Afro-Caribbean genres and rhythmic
patterns with cuarteto,supposedly, "to offer a tribute to the black race"
(206). The second is the addition of an unorthodox cuartetoinstrument (the
piccolo, played by Florine herself) in the next compact disc released by
Jimenez, El Marginal.The interesting thing about this later compact disc is
that less than a year after releasing Raza Negra,"Jimenezturned his back on
all of the innovations he had made in Raza Negraand returned to his tradi-
tional cuartetoroots" with the release of El Marginal(211).
The chapter introduces each band member and shows the influence of
each individual on the music performed. Several pages are dedicated to
246 : Reviews

CarlosJimenez himself, and the impression one gets from the interviews
is that band members have always been trying to "improve" not to
"change" cuartetomusic. According to them, "the tunga-tungamust remain
in the bass and the piano parts and the sound of the accordion must be
present." Therefore, instead of using the word "change," which suggests
that cuartetomusic might turn into something else, "they prefer to use the
word 'evolve"' (235).
In analyzing the release of Raza Negra, Florine discovers that almost
nothing about Raza Negrahad been planned at all:
Jimenez had not begun recordingthe disc with the intentionof makinga
tributeto the blackrace or Africanslaves,nor had he wantedto "change"
the musicof C6rdobawithhis efforts.The recordingwasthe resultof several
thingsthathad occurredby chance:the [un-planned]additionof threefor-
eign percussioniststo the group(andtheirresultingmusicalinfluence),two
tripsthatJimenezhad made abroad,and some foreignmusicalgenresthat
he had been exposedto. (238)

Thus, the serendipitous character of some musical innovations is well ex-

emplified by Florine with this case. The recording was changing course
due to a series of unrelated events, but, once completed, it appeared as a
totally planned move by the artist.
In the case of the release of El Marginal,what is important for Florine's
analysis is her own participation in the recording of one tune, "Penita,"in
which she plays piccolo. As she points out, this is a very interesting case of
musical innovation in the genre, because "flutes have not been used in
cuartetomusic . . . and no female instrumentalist had performed with a
cuartetogroup since Leonor Marzano played with the Cuarteto Leo" in the
early stages of the genre thirty years ago (243). Also, what the experience
of El Marginalshows is the paradox of an artist who releases a totally un-
planned compact disc that is highly innovative for the genre (RazaNegra),
and carefully plans a follow-up recording that straight-forwardlyreturns to
the orthodoxy of the genre (El Marginal. Florine also explains why the
artist decided to make a couple of unorthodox moves (to use the piccolo
and a female musician) in a highly orthodox recording. According to the
author, it seems that Jimenez always liked the sound of strings, and he
believed that a flute could be used as though it were a string instrument
(246).
As we see, a very intricate process of musical innovation challenges
many time-tested ideas on the issue. Interestingly enough, Florine even
finds out that,
sinceJimenez is alwaysconcernedabout other human beings, especially
people who are in need, some stylisticelementsof the band'smusic have
come aboutbecauseof his generosity.Tribi,Abraham,and Byronwere all
addedto the groupbecausetheyneededwork,butin turn,have contributed
 Reviews : 247

to formthe band'sspecialWatusisection.... It is quitelikelythatone of the

main reasonshe askedme to recordwith the group,which has servedto
changethe band'sstyle somewhat,was in orderto help me; he thoughtI
couldlearna lot fromperformingwitha cuarteto groupfirsthandandwanted
me to be able to finishmy project.(261)

According to Florine, Carlos Jim6nez's group is the epitome of musical

innovation, because
the open-minded,egalitarianpersonalityof CarlosJimenezmakesthe indi-
vidualbackgrounds of eachpersonin hisgrouphighlyimportantin hisband's
overallmusicalstyle.Sincemembersareencouragedto introducenew ideas
and arrangerepertoirein a groupfashion,and aregiven ampleopportunity
to do so, individualideas are quicklyabsorbedby all of the bandmembers
and are used to stimulatefurtherinnovation;as a result,personalstyles of
performing,musicalpreferences,and musicalknowledgecan easilybe in-
troducedintothe band'smusic.... Everysinglepersonin the band... plays
a role in musicalchange.(261-62)

In the last chapter, Florine returns to the scene of her original research and
documents the changes that have occurred. She discovers that in 1998
Carlos Jimenez's band was still by far the most popular cuartetoband of
C6rdoba. Trying to understand the enduring character of this popularity,
the author points out that, on the one hand, fans love La Mona's "'voice'
(as opposed to his singing voice), that is, what he represents" (292). That is,
those who worship Carlos Jim6nez like an idol do so because they can
identify with him. At the same time,Jimenez triggers a process of identifi-
cation among his fans, in which dancers experience a feeling of solidarity
and belonging-"an imaginary value that is linked with ideas of fidelity
(people normally follow only one group), class, and of authenticity in en-
joyment" (295). According to Florine because,

CarlosJimenezactslike he is one of theirsame socialclassand is seen as a

fellow negrowho has not rejectedhis past,cuarteto
fansareproudthathe has
"madeit."Sincethey mostlikelywill not succeed,he is theirrevenge.(295)

Second, people perceiveJim6nez as being "authentic,"that is, of express-

ing sincerely his experiences or feelings:

Contraryto whathas happenedwith some othersingerswho have become

rich and famous,Jimenez does not behave any differentlythan before:he
still socializeswith those fromwhose rankshe came (negros
and those who
are marginal)stillperformsevery weekendin C6rdoba,and sincerelyper-
formscuarteto becausehe likes and feels it. (293)

As one of his songs points out: "La Mona es un Muchacho de Barrio"(La

Mona is a neighborhood boy). As Florine points out,Jim6nez's fans appreci-
ate the fact that he still ponders himself to be a negroand has not forgotten
248 : Reviews

either the prejudice or discrimination he had to endure: "He has not re-
nounced his origins or begun to look down upon them. Paradoxically,
Jimenez [who right now is very rich], is still seen as a member of the work-
ing class" (294-95). Florine claims that because cuartetohas always aided
its fans to create a group identity among people who are all of a low, "mar-
ginal class, it is very important for cuarteteros
thatJim6nez be 'one of them"'
(295). Additionally, Jimenez has always refused to hire an agent and has
challenged the recording industry in order to maintain his ideals (294).
Third, not only do his song lyrics reflect that "he is one of them," but also
pay special attention to issues that serve the needs of his followers.
Above all, Florine considers that through, "hissuccess as a cuartetosinger,
Jimenez has taught his admirers that [it]is possible for a negro,a cabecita...
to beat the odds and triumph over prejudice. He has also shown them that
they should value and feel proud of themselves.... By his own personal
example,Jimenez has paved the way toward self-empowerment and self-
respect for those of his same sociocultural background" (298).
Summarizing my comments so far, among the many virtues of the book,
one of the most important is how Florine makes us "feel" cuartetomusic
and dance. Also, the book clearly delivers what it promises, showing how
complex and unexpected the process of musical innovation can be. Among
the problems I see with the book, perhaps the most important is a feeling
that Florine only got at the surface of the social phenomenon called
"cuartetos cordobeses." While her musicological analyses are quite poi-
gnant, her social analyses are superficial and full of her own guesses about
the importance of the genre for its followers, something that should have
been filled out with some kind of ethnographic material that is not pre-
sented in the book. Also, while a disclaimer is included, "Since I was not
able to check the accuracy of [the literature she uses for historical informa-
tion], there may be some errors in the historical portion of this book" (18),
the errors are much more than only "some." I am talking here not only of
historical errors, but also factual ones that would have been avoided with
the simple act of having any decent Argentine social scientist review the
manuscript before publication.
Despite these problems, I highly recommend the book to any person
interested in knowing more about this very important Argentine regional
music, in particular,and how complex the process of musical innovation is
in general.
Pablo Vila, TempleUniversity,Philadelphia,PA

WOLFGANG DIETRICH. Samba Samba.Einepolitikwissenschaftliche Untersuchung

zur fernen Erotik Lateinamerikasin den Schlagerndes 20. Jahrhunderts(Da
capo: Verschiedenes zur Musik, Vol. 1, ed. por Elena Ostleitner).
Strasshof: Vier-Viertel-Verlag, 2002. 247 paginas. Transcripciones de