Cueca

Cueca is a family of musical styles and dances. Dancers carry a handkerchief in their right hand and move in circles, turning and taking elegant steps. It began in the late 18th century, but where it started is still debated.

The cueca is known by many names and has many versions across different places, from Colombia to Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia. Each place adds its own local flavor and changes the rhythm and steps slightly, but all these dances share the same basic idea.

In Chile, the government named the cueca the official national dance in 1979 and set aside September 17 as National Cueca Day. In Bolivia, the cueca was recognized as an intangible cultural heritage in 2015, with the first Sunday of October celebrated as the Day of the Bolivian Cueca.

Origins

Cueca's origins are not clearly defined, but it is mostly influenced by European Spanish and possibly indigenous traditions. One popular story connects it to the zamacueca, a dance that started in Peru as a version of the Spanish Fandango with criollo styles. This dance is believed to have moved to Chile and Bolivia, where its name was shortened and it kept changing.

In Bolivia, the Cueca dance has many different styles depending on the region. In places like La Paz, Potosí, and Sucre, the dance is more elegant and steady. In Cochabamba and Tarija, it is livelier and more free. Dancers often use handkerchiefs, twirling them above their heads as part of the dance.

History in Chile

In Chile, the cueca dance became popular in bars and taverns during the 1800s. A visitor named Fred Warpole described the dance with guitars, harps, tambourines, and special singing.

Over time, the cueca mixed with many different dances. It became very structured, like old European dances. The cueca spread to many Latin American countries. In Argentina, it was first seen in Cuyo and later in Buenos Aires. In Bolivia and Mexico, people also enjoyed it. By the 1860s, it was popular in Peru too.

In the twentieth century, cueca became linked with everyday people in Chile and spread around Santiago. In 1979, it was officially named Chile's national dance.

Clothing and dance

People dancing the cueca wear special traditional clothes from Chile. Men wear hats, shirts, ponchos, riding pants, short jackets, boots, and spurs. Women wear pretty flowered dresses.

The cueca dance tells a story of a rooster and a chicken. The man starts by walking up to the woman and offering his arm. They walk around the room together and then face each other, each holding a handkerchief in the air. They dance without touching but use their faces and movements to show friendship and fun. A white handkerchief is an important part of the dance that they wave during the performance.

Basic structure

The cueca is danced to music with a special rhythm, either in ⁶₈ or ³₄ time, and it has three main parts.

There are different versions of the cueca depending on where you are. The northern cueca is quieter, without singing, and uses instruments like sicus, zamponas, and brass trumpets, tubas. It is often performed at religious events and carnivals. The central region cueca, common in Chile, uses guitars, accordions, and other instruments. The Chiloé cueca focuses more on the singer's style and repeats certain parts of the music.

Interpretation

Cuequear means to dance the cueca, and this usually happens during the Fiestas Patrias in September. During this time, special places are set up in Santiago where people can learn and enjoy the dance. It is common for leaders to start the celebrations with a special cueca dance.

There are many fun ways to enjoy cueca, such as singing, playing music in circles, and dancing together in public places. Competitions for cueca dancing are held all over Chile, with groups like schools, children, and people from other countries taking part. These events bring together dancers and musicians to celebrate this important part of Chilean culture.

In other countries

The cueca dance spread to many countries in the 1800s, mostly called chilena.

In Mexico

Main article: Chilena (musical genre)

In 1822, sailors from Chile brought cueca to Mexico during the Mexican War of Independence. Later, during the California Gold Rush, Chilean immigrants helped it grow. It mixed with local traditions in Guerrero and became a new style of music called chilena. This style spread along the coast and to other parts of Mexico and the United States in the 1980s and 1990s.

In Peru

Main article: Marinera

Near the end of a war (1836–1839), Chilean troops brought a version called zamacueca to Peru. It became popular in the 1860s and 1870s and was called chilena. In 1879, a Peruvian writer renamed it marinera. Early versions appeared in newspapers in March 1879.

Some believe marinera evolved from old Spanish dances, the zamacueca, and the chilena.

In Argentina

Cueca reached Argentina from Chile through the Cuyo region, first as zamacueca and later as cueca chilena. It was recorded in Cuyo around 1840 and in Buenos Aires by 1850.

The Cuyan cueca is usually sung with guitar music. It differs from the Chilean style musically and in dance moves. There is also a “northern cueca,” called chilena in northwest Argentina and Bolivia, arriving from Peru. Since 1974, an annual festival has been held in Santa Rosa.

Among its types are:

• Cuyan cueca
• Malargüina cueca
• Neuquina cueca
• Northern cueca (called chilena in the Argentine Northwest)
• Riojana cueca
• Cuequita

Some famous Cuyan cuecas are:

• “Cochero ’e plaza” (Hilario Cuadros)
• “La del Parral” (Hilario Cuadros and Benjamín Miranda)
• “La juguetona” (Buenaventura Luna)
• “La yerba mora” (Hilario Cuadros)
• “Las dos puntas” (Osvaldo Vicente Rocha and Carlos Montbrun Ocampo, 1946)
• “Las tres donosas” (Hilario Cuadros)
• “Los sesenta granaderos” (Hilario Cuadros and Félix Pérez Cardozo)
• “Póngale por las hileras” (Félix Dardo Palorma)
• “¿Por qué será?” (Hernán Videla Flores and Carlos Montbrun Ocampo)
• “Vinito patero” (Coletti and Alberto Rodríguez)

In Bolivia

In 1865, cueca arrived in Bolivia from Peru. There, the Chilean version became popular in the 1860s and 1870s under the name chilena. In 1879, a Peruvian writer renamed it marinera. Bolivian cueca is usually performed at family events and festivals.

Since 2004, an international cueca festival has been held every year in El Alto. In 2015, the Bolivian government named cueca the nation’s cultural heritage.

Types of Bolivian cueca include:

• Chapaca cueca – playful, fast, with footwork
• Chaqueña cueca – bouncy and fast, with special clothing
• Chuquisaqueña cueca – like a waltz, with formal clothing
• Cochabambina cueca – simple and cheerful
• Oruro and La Paz cuecas – both have sad music
• Potosina cueca – mixes sad and happy parts

Costumes change with the style. Women may wear long skirts or shorter ones, and men wear trousers, shirts, vests, and hats.

Famous Bolivian cuecas include:

• “Así es Tarija” (Huáscar Aparicio)
• “Cómo extraño a mi tierra” (Ernesto Mealla)
• “El regreso” (Matilde Casazola)
• “Huérfana Virginia” (Simeón Roncal)
• “La bolivianita” (Huáscar Aparicio)
• “La de Moto Méndez” (Chapaca cueca, Nilo Soruco; sung by Tamara Castro)
• “La tarijeñita” (Rigoberto Rojas Suárez; sung by Los Fronterizos)
• “Morir cantando” (Chapaca cueca, Hugo Monzón)
• “Rojo, amarillo y verde” (Chaqueña cueca, Juan Enrique Jurado)
• “Viva mi patria Bolivia” (originally “A Bolivia,” by Apolinar Camacho and Ricardo Cabrera; recognized as the second national anthem).