A response to Norrient’s article “Redefining Englishness” written by Louise Gray on Bishi Bhattacharya work
Galicia, Cantabria & Asturias
Galicia is the most western Spanish province and shares many cultural aspects with Portuguese northerners, from language to costumes. This relation began a long time ago before Portugal even existed. Gallaecia was an ancient Celtic tribe that resided north of the Douro River, where Oporto is located. The original name for Oporto was Portucale which meant The Gates of Cale, another name for Gallaecia/Galicia. Portucale is also the origin of the country’s name. The north of Portugal and Galicia were also Asturias a long time ago, using Braga, Portugal (Bracara) as their capital city. In fact, there is a zone in northeast Portugal, Miranda-do-Douro, Bragança, where is still being spoken an Astur-Leonese language – the Mirandese, which is not related to the Galician-Portuguese language group.
Gaiteiros: the gaita-galega/asturiana is an instrument fluent in northern Portugal, Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias. Muiñeiras would be a genre that often uses the gaitas and the xotas, maneos and alalás. The instrument could also be followed alongside a tamboril (a typical snare drum).
Euskadi, Navarre & La Rioja
These first two are known for their unique non-Latin language – the euskera, spoken by more than 3 million people across Spain and France – recently considered a unique and distinct Mediterranean ethnicity. They also have a strong relation with pipes, but they differ in format and sound – txitstu and the albolka. Navarre follows the traditions of the Basque Country. At the same time, La Rioja, a tiny region, is mainly influenced by its neighbor Navarre and Aragon, but its language is derived from standard Castillian.
Trikitixa – meaning little-hand sound is a genre of music that consists of the usage of a basque melodeon (diatonic button accordion) and a tambourine – the name of the genre derived from the onomatopeia of this last instrument. It is believed that it was introduced by Italian alpines two centuries ago.
Jota – this genre is typical in many regions in Spain, but Navarre and La Rioja have a rich connection to this genre. It consists of visual performance with dancers and music instrumentation composed of guitars, drums, and the mythical dulzaina, a double-reed instrument in the oboe family. Its sound can be compared to many Arabic flutes, such as the mijwiz. The format of the songs resembles many Arab traditional musical genres such as the middle east dabke, which is played in a 3/4 rhythm. The term jota is a literal phonetic translation of the Mozarabic word šáwta, which means jump, alluding to the dance format consisting of various hops. This genre has its origins in southern Aragon, and his fluent in Castilla la Mancha, Castilla y León, and many other regions in Spain.
Joaldun Carnival – it is not considered to be music, but yet sonically very interesting. The joaldun carnival character is very famous in Navarre’s Pyrenees (Ituren and Zubieta), where the figures shake cowbells as a warning of the carnival’s arrival. Another similar sonic act would be the basque ezpatadantza, where instead of bells, it is shaken some sort of rattles. Reminds me of the Entrudo Chocalheiro