Ranchera

Ranchera
Stylistic origins	Mariachi
Cultural origins	Mexico
Typical instruments	Guitar, vihuela, trumpet, violin, guitarrón, harp, harmonica, accordion, and maracas
Subgenres
bolero-ranchero, banda, corrido
Other topics
Charro - Jarabe Tapatío (also the name of a song) - Zapateado - Son Huasteco - Huapango - Mexican pop

Ranchera (pronounced: [ranˈtʃeɾa]), or canción ranchera is a genre of the traditional music of Mexico. It dates before the years of the Mexican Revolution. It later became closely associated with the mariachi groups which evolved in Jalisco. Ranchera today is also played by norteño (or Conjunto) or banda and Tamborazo. Drawing on rural traditional folk music, ranchera developed as a symbol of a new national consciousness in reaction to the aristocratic tastes of the period. Some well-known interpreters of the genre are the following singers: Amalia Mendoza, Antonio Aguilar, Chelo, Cuco Sánchez, Flor Silvestre, Irma Serrano, Javier Solís, Jorge Negrete, José Alfredo Jiménez, Lola Beltrán, Lucha Villa, Pedro Infante, Rocío Dúrcal, Vicente Fernández and presently, Pedro Fernández.

Traditional rancheras are about love, patriotism or nature. Rhythms can have a metric in 2/4 (ranchera polkeada), 3/4 (ranchera valseada), or 4/4 (bolero ranchero) reflecting the tempo of, respectively, the polka, the waltz, and the bolero. There is a slow ranchera in 4/4 (ranchera lenta). Songs are usually in a major key, and consist of an instrumental introduction, verse and refrain, instrumental section repeating the verse, and another verse and refrain, with a tag ending. Instrumentation may include guitars, strings, trumpets, and/or accordions, depending on the type of ensemble being utilised. Besides the typical instrumentation, ranchera music, as well as many other forms of traditional Mexican music, is also noted for the grito mexicano, a yell that is done at musical interludes within a song, either by the musicians and/or the listening audience.

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Wikipedia