Gaita Zuliana

Gaita or Gaita Zuliana is a style of Venezuelan folk music from Maracaibo in Zulia State, Venezuela, that has since been spread thorough the country. It's usually conflated with Christmas Music in Venezuela despite the genre nor being particularly Christmas-y. This is because the Gaita began as the typical music style for the celebrations of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, Saint Patroness of Maracaibo (nicknamed "La Chinita" or "La China" by the locals), who are around mid-November, and then became ingrained along with other music genres for Christmas season like aguinaldos and parrandas. While there are Christmas-themed songs in the genre, most gaita songs' themes range from humorous and love songs to protest songs to drinking songs; the most common theme on gaitas, however, when not on praise of La Chinita or about Zulian traditions and landmarks, seems to be singing to and about gaita itself.

The most characteristic instrument on gaita is the Furro or furruco, a very typical friction drum that takes the bass position. The other traditional instruments used are cuatro (a small string instrument cousin of the guitar, with as its names indicate has four strings), charrasca (a stried/perforated cooper cylinder, that is played by rubbing a metal stick over it), tambora (a long, one headed drum, that is played simultaneously in the membrane and in the wooden body) and maracas. Many other instruments can and has been added (the most common addition being electric bass-guitar and synthesizers), but the furro-cuatro-tambora-maracas-charrasca configuration is deemed as the bare minimum a gaita group must have. Gaita songs have a short stanza-long chorus structure that calls for at least one soloist and a large number of backing vocalists; thus a gaita group tends to be quite large even without accounting for extra instruments. Traditionally gaita groups had vocalist of mixed genders, but most commercial groups today then to be monogendered; the stereotypical gaita group is portrayed as a bunch of spirited overweight and mustachioed men. The traditional Maracaibo gaita has a 6x8 compass, but other variants of gaita (like tamborera, contradanza, or Santa Lucia's gaita) have sightly different compasses.

This musical genre became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and it fused with other styles such as salsa and merengue in the 1970s. The gaita-fusion hasn't going without hitches, however: many groups are staunch defenders of more traditional instrumentation and see anyone who goes beyond the basic ensemble with suspicion.

Trinidad and Tobago has adopted gaita and calls it parang. It has some variation compared with the original, namely more variety of instruments.

While still very appreciated and having had been declared "Intangible Patrimony of the Nation", the genre has its share of detractors. Some dislike the genre because the ubiquity ^[1], while others resent the extreme provincialism of the lyrics, or the perceived repetitiveness and lack of evolution of their melodies -not helped with gaita groups' obsession to keep the genre pure. Venezuelan artist Enrique Enriquez once went on record that to him Gaita sounded like an old washing machine in their last stertors, which is sadly not an uncommon opinion.

Note that the genre is simply known as "Gaita" in Venezuela, but we have to add the "Zuliana" to differentiate it from the instrument of the same name that is known in English as "bagpipes". Note that no bagpipes of any sort are used in gaitas zulianas (not that anyone wants to try it...)

Some Famous Gaita Groups and Singers

This is an incomplete list that only names some of the most notorious groups and artists. Many historical groups have disbanded or separated, and there are many small groups that doesn't release original songs. Website Esencia Gaitera, who has followed the gaita season since 2013, received songs from around 100 groups just in the 2017 season.

Ricardo Aguirre, better known as El Monumental since his songs and compositions made a before and an after in the genre. Worked only in The Sixties, and composed a lot of popular songs, including the legendary standards "La Grey Zuliana", "Maracaibo Marginada", "La Pica Pica", and "La Vivarachera". Died in 1969 at only 30 years old. Still fondly remembered.
Astolfo Romero, a singer, composer and musical director that was part of several groups, including Gaiteros de Pillopo, Cardenales del Éxito, Maragaita y Gran Coquivacoa. He was also a historian of the genre and tried to preserve as much of its history as possible. He's the author of famous songs like "Negrita Cumba Cumba", "La Taguara de Bartolo", "El Mercado de los Buchones", "Entre Palos y Alegrías", "El Burro" and "La Florecita" . He died in 2000.
Cardenales del Éxito: one of the oldest groups still playing, even after having had a share of splits. They have had a number of famous singers on composers that have worked with them at some moment. Some of their most famous song are "Negrito Fullero", "El Tren de Cardenales" (usually misnamed "Lolelolayla" after the most catchy line of its chorus), "Sentir Zuliano" (usually misnamed "Cuando voy a Maracaibo") "Trigueña Hermosa", "Mi Ranchito", and the most popular recording of "María La Bollera".
Rincón Morales, one of the pioneers of the genre. They were the first group on record an LP, to uniform their members for concerts, and to have an electric bass as a permanent instrument. Many of their songs are about the natural beauties of the country. Their most famous songs are "Orinoco", "Caracas", "Gaita Gaita", and "Tarjeta de Navidad".
Barrio Obrero de Cabimas, better known as just Barrio Obrero, one of the legendary groups. Has the particularity that they have both male and female vocalists, as commercial gaita groups tend to be monogendered. Famous for their protest songs, their most popular ones, "Así es Maracaibo", "Gaita a Cabimas" (usually miscalled as "Cabimas la Cenicienta") and "Un Ojo Dimos" has become standards.
Gran Coquivacoa, one of the most popular groups due to their very danceable songs. Their main singer and composer for decades now has been Abdénago «Neguito» Borjas, one of the most recognizable voices of the genre. Their most famous songs is the very romantic "Sin Rencor" (the standard for breakups songs in the genre), and the "Gaita Onomatopéyica" (literally "The onomatopoeic gaita" who is Exactly What It Says on the Tin), but they have earned prizes for their songs "Punta Icotea", "Las Cabras", "La Gaita de Molero" and "La Alianza".
Koquimba is a relatively recent group, founded in the late 1980s (most of the groups of this list having being founded in the 1950s and 1960s). They tend to sing about modern issues and their love for typical gaita arrangements. Among their famous songs are "Entre Pilatos y Judas", "Por aquí se va pa' Cuba", "La Philco" and "La Gaita del Facebook".
Melody Gaita are very famous for their irreverent, comedic, Double Entendre-filled gaitas, that usually double as protest ones. Among their most famous songs are "Pajarito Volá", "La Gata Blanca" (which brought them trouble on its release due to being about the secretary and lover of then president Jaime Lusinchi, which in turn inspired another gaita titled "El Perro") "Le entró la tos", and "La Gallina Vieja".
Maracaibo 15 is probably the most archetypal gaita group and one of the most popular. Funded in the late seventies, with half of their members being marabinos and the other half being caraqueños. His most recognizable singer is their founder Betulio Medina. They are known for their Old-Year/New Year themed songs ("Viejo año", "Venga un abrazo", "El Cañonazo", "Un feliz año", "Amigo", etc.) but also for their songs directed or about beautiful women (their most famous being "Amparito", "Consuelito", "La Moza", "La negra del tamunangue", "Muñeca"...) and their song "El 18 de Noviembre", dedicated to La Chinita.
Venezuela Habla Gaiteando, usually known for their initialism VHG, is one of the youngest "established" groups, born in The Nineties. They tend to have many songs about gaita itself, but they also release funny protest songs. Some of their most famous songs are "Conciencia", "La Chupa Chupa", "La Voy a Tocar a Pie" and "Déjala Que Agarre el Golpe"
Saladillo: They are more known within Zulia than out of the state, but they are still kind of popular. They were the last group Ricardo Aguirre was in, so they were the group that recorded his most famous song "La Grey Zuliana". Before him, however, they recorded an older folkloric song, "La Cabra Mocha", which they made so famous it became an standard of the genre. Some of their other songs are "Flor de la Habana" (both of them), "La negra Juana" and "Aniceto Rondón"
Gaiteros de Pillopo: They became famous thanks to Astolfo Romero's compositions, but they have had sustained success though the years. Among their most popular songs are "La tienda de Tobías", "La piñata", "El mercado de los buchones", "Pa’ que Luis", "Los remedios", "Morrocoy" and "La taguara de Bartolo"
Nikitao (sometimes called Niquitao after the towns of that name) is a particular case, as they are formed by people from Lara state, who musically tend to be very far from Maracaibo. Their most famous song is "Divina Pastora", dedicated to the saint patroness of Barquisimeto, the Divine Shepherdess.
Guaco began as a gaita group in the sixties, but by the eighties they had became a more tropical band with an extremely distinctive sound. While nowadays they are branded more like a salsa/tropical latin band, they still sing some of their old gaita repertory in concerts during Christmastime. Gustavo Aguado is their main founder and singer, albeit they have has an array of secondary singers thorough their history. Their most famous songs that are actual gaitas are «Venite pa’ Maracaibo» and "María la Bollera". Their song "Sentimiento Nacional" tends to be included in gaita compilations despite not being a proper gaita.

Some Famous Gaita Songs (many of those have become gaita standards)

"La Grey Zuliana", usually nicknamed "the gaitero's hymn"
"La Cabra Mocha"
"La Gaita Onomatopéyica"
"Sin Rencor"
"Amigo"

Tropes used in Gaita Zuliana include:

Creator Provincialism: Very.
Ode to Intoxication: a frequent theme.
Protest Song: Barrio Obrero and Gran Coquivacoa have sang some the most famous of those in the genre, but every group have done at least one or ten. "La Grey Zuliana", originally by Ricardo Aguirre, is the main standard of this subgenre.
Self-Demonstrating Song
This Is a Song
Three Chords and the Truth: A variant: the thing defended there is not only the traditional rhythm, but also the traditional 5 instruments ensemble.
The Wiki Rule: there are some wikis, but they are all in Spanish and in dire need of wiki love.

↑ due to being associated with Christmas, they have become victims of the same Christmas creep, and where before the gaita season began at most a couple of weeks before their official kickstart in November 18 with the parties in honor of La Chiquinqurá, now you can hear gaitas in radios -out of Maracaibo!- as soon as August.

[1] ue to being associated with Christmas, they have become victims of the same Christmas creep, and where before the gaita season began at most a couple of weeks before their official kickstart in November 18 with the parties in honor of La Chiquinqurá, now you can hear gaitas in radios -out of Maracaibo!- as soon as August.

[1]