Content area
Full Text
ABSTRACT: This article examines the social history of the Ecuadorian pasillo and its rise, decline, and pervasiveness as a musical symbol of the Ecuadorian national identity. It also explores the pasillo in relation to a widespread belief among Ecuadorians that being "sentimental" is a unique trait of their national character I argue that the pasillos pervasiveness as a national symbol during the -twentieth century is due to the multiplicity of meanings that it generates across age, ethnicity, gender and social classes.
keywords: Ecuador; nationalism, identity, popular music.
RESUMEN: Este artículo examina Ia historia social del pasillo ecuatoriano y su auge, ocaso, y permanencia como un símbolo musical de Ia identidad nacional ecuatorianaTambién analiza el pasillo en relación a una creencia generalizada entre los ecuatorianos que ser "sentimental" es un rasgo particular de su carácter nacional. Sostengo que Ia permanencia del pasillo como un símbolo nacional durante Ia mayor parte del siglo XX se debe a Ia multiplicidad de significados que éste genera en grupos de distintas edades, etnicidades, géneros y clases sociales.
palabras clave: Ecuador; nacionalismo, identidad, música popular
A foreign tourist who arrives in Ecuador and inquires about the country's most representative national music will be puzzled by the different answers he or she may get. Middle-aged and elderly Ecuadorians will favor the pasillo for its poetic and romantic lyrics that remind them of their youth, while younger generations will probably disdain it because of its sad and maudlin character. Many people, regardless of their socio-economic position, gender or other status, will claim that listening to pasillos is an invitation to drink heavily, especially when nursing a broken heart. Our foreign tourist may be surprised to hear many Ecuadorians proudly saying that the pasillo moves them to tears and that it is the song of the national soul. But he or she will find out a few days later that the music that Ecuadorians claim as emblematic of the nation is the least promoted by the government and the mass media. Are they all talking about the same music? How can a maudlin song associated with drunkenness be considered a national symbol? Why does the pasillo generate so many different reactions among Ecuadorians?
This article examines the rise and decline of the...