Cancion con Todos (A Song for All People in the Americas) is a two-part song based on two different rhythms. The first part is calm and recognizes each area of the Americas with characteristic elements such as copper for Chile, sun for Peru, etc. The second part is rhythmic and exultant. It invites all of the Americas' people to sing together as a family. The hope is to develop a mutual understanding among Latin American people and invite them all to sing together in one huge chorus.

Arranger: Cesar Isalla | Country: Argentina

Candomble is written in a rhythm very close to the tango and the habanera. Some Latin American music has been influenced by or developed from African rhythms, as in this piece. Candomble is a dance from the Rio de la Plata; now it is heard in Uruguay, where they usually play it with drums of different sizes. This dance was known in Argentina, where it was also called Candomble.

Country: Argentina

Country: Argentina

This exciting work is based on two sources: a traditional Spanish song and a traditional Creole-Argentenian song. The opening has a slow tempo and wimple rhythms, followed by a lively, celebrative dance. The percussion builds throughout, beginning with a triangle and tom-tom, then adds tambourine, and ends with everybody's favorite - the vibraslap.

Country: Argentina

Country: Peru

It has been said that you can see Buenos Aires while listening to Astor Piazzolla's music. This is one of his talents that sets him apart from other composers. Piazzolla made a revolution with the tango, which created many problems for him in his country (traditionalists did not accept his music as tango). But everybody finally accepted his changes because his music put the Argentine dance, the tango, at the highest level.

Composer: Astor Piazzolla | Country: Argentina

The Golpe and the Joropo are typical folk dances of Venezuela and La Chaparrita is representative of the Golpe. Both Venezuelan dances are strongly rhythmical - while the female dancer waves her long, ample skirt, the male dancer keeps the beat in a clog dance.

Arranger: Vivian Tabbush | Country: Venezuela

The lyrics in La Ninez de America (The Childhood of America) are from a poem written by Bonifacio del Carril, an Argentinean poet who lived 1911-1994. Alberto Balzanelli took the idea for his composition from the music of the Incas, once one of the biggest empires in South America.

Arranger: Alberto Balzanelli | Country: Argentina

The highly anticipated treble arrangement! Astor Piazzolla is known around the world for his creative works incorporating the traditional sounds and rhythms of the Argentinian tango. Oscar Escalada masterfully uses nonsense syllables to give singers the opportunity to lend their voices to this delightful work. A guaranteed audience pleaser!

Composer: Astor Piazzolla | Country: Argentina

Manchai Puito ( Two Little Doves) is a quichua (Indian) folksong from the rural part of Argentina near the Andes mountains. It is somewhat like the gaucho folksongs. The gauchos were of mixed Spanish and Indian heritage. They worked as cattle herders and are still celebrated by stories and songs because they were the heroes of the Pampas, the grassy plains around Buenos Aires. Gauchos were very honest and independent men. Like the cowboys of North America, a gaucho would sing to keep himself company as he worked alone on the plains. He would wear a fringed poncho, bombachas (baggy pants), a belt ornamented with silver coins, leather boots, and spurs.

Country: Argentina

Milonguera comes from the word milonga, which is a rhythm very close to the tango. The area of the milonga is Buenos Aires, Argentina. Oscar Escalda has built this exuberant work on a rhythmic pattern and its variations. The words are phenomes (nonsense words) created to get just the right effect with the rhythms.

Country: Argentina

The malambo is an Argentinean gaucho dance. It is performed only by men. The gauchos were of mixed Spanish and Indian heritage. They worked as cattle herders and are still celebrated by stories and songs because they were the heroes of the Pampas, the grassy plains around Buenos Aires. Gauchos were very honest and independent men. The two dancers perform a kind of fight: the first dancer "draws" a figure with his feet that must be repeated by the second one. When it is the second dancer's turn, he will draw another figure which must be duplicated by the first dancer. The figures are called mudanzas. The dance is over when one of the dancers cannot repeat the drawing of the other or cannot think of a new drawing.

Country: Argentina

The malambo is an Argentinean gaucho dance. It is performed only by men. The gauchos were of mixed Spanish and Indian heritage. They worked as cattle herders and are still celebrated by stories and songs because they were the heroes of the Pampas, the grassy plains around Buenos Aires. Gauchos were very honest and independent men. The two dancers perform a kind of fight: the first dancer "draws" a figure with his feet that must be repeated by the second one. When it is the second dancer's turn, he will draw another figure which must be duplicated by the first dancer. The figures are called mudanzas. The dance is over when one of the dancers cannot repeat the drawing of the other or cannot think of a new drawing. Also arranged for SSAA A Cappella

Country: Argentina

It has been said that you can see Buenos Aires while listening to Astor Piazzolla's music. This is one of his talents that sets him apart from other composers. Piazzolla made a revolution with the tango, which created many problems for him in his country (traditionalists did not accept his music as tango). But everybody finally accepted his changes because his music put the Argentine dance, the tango, at the highest level.

Composer: Astor Piazzolla | Country: Argentina

Pala-pala (Raven) is a joyful song that is most fun when the singers (or dancers) make movements to fit the words, including pala-pala (raven), chuna (wading bird), and ampatu (toad). For instance, for the raven, dancers would move their arms and heads to imitate the wings of the raven.

Country: Argentina

Pregones del Altiplano (common cries from the Andean mesas) uses the carnavalito rhythm of a very common dance in an area called Altiplano. The Altiplano is in the northern part of Argentina and Bolivia, south of Peru, and north of Chile. It has recently been designated Patrinoio de la Humanidad because of its tradition and aborigine heritage.

Country: Argentina

It has been said that you can see Buenos Aires while listening to Astor Piazzolla's music. This is one of his talents that sets him apart from other composers. Piazzolla made a revolution with the tango, which created many problems for him in his country (traditionalists did not accept his music as tango). But everybody finally accepted his changes because his music put the Argentine dance, the tango, at the highest level.

Composer: Astor Piazzolla | Country: Argentina

Gentle tango rhythms and modern harmonies infuse this folk-like tune. Sopranos carry the melody while Basses emulate rich pizzicatos, providing a deliberate, forward motion. Altos and Tenors fill out the texture, evoking sounds of bowed strings, the bandoneon, and the guitar. Lyrics are simple, easy to learn syllables; rhythms are straightforward, with a clear pulse. A great choice for introducing your choir to Latin American music!

Country: Argentina

Santafecino de versa is a chamame, a people's joyful dance from the eastern part of Argentina, an area called Litoral. The dancers put their cheeks together, looking at the same side. They take each other's hands extended ahead, and they dance together with an up and down movement, as if they were jumping. Sometimes they like to shout in a very high tune, which called sapucay, a Guarani language word.

Country: Argentina

Santafecino de versa is a chamame, a people's joyful dance from the eastern part of Argentina, an area called Litoral. The dancers put their cheeks together, looking at the same side. They take each other's hands extended ahead, and they dance together with an up and down movement, as if they were jumping. Sometimes they like to shout in a very high tune, which called sapucay, a Guarani language word.

Country: Argentina

Rafael Alberti is one of the great Spanish poets of the 20th Century. A few years after publishing the poem, Se equivoco la paloma (The Dove Was Wrong), Alberti was visited by a young Argentine composer who asked for permission to use the poem in a song. Alberti had never thought that his poem would become such a great success as it has. The young composer was indeed Carlos Guastavino. The song is a wonderful blend between the lyrics and the music. Guastavino musically describes the great tenderness of the dove that missed the way, but leaves to your imagination any kind of interpretation that you would like to make of this beautiful poem.

Arranger: Carlos Guastavino | Country: Argentina

It has been said that you can see Buenos Aires while listening to Astor Piazzolla's music. This is one of his talents that sets him apart from other composers. Piazzolla made a revolution with the tango, which created many problems for him in his country (traditionalists did not accept his music as tango). But everybody finally accepted his changes because his music put the Argentine dance, the tango, at the highest level.

Composer: Astor Piazzolla