“Two Oruguitas” from the Movie Encanto: History of Colombia through Music.

Introduction

“Two Oruguitas” from the movie Encanto was composed by the New Yorker with Puerto Rican descent Lin Manuel Miranda and sung by the Colombian Sebastián Yatra, this is an inspiring song that touches the heart who listens to it. Within the film, this song brings the climax of the narrative giving a message full of joy and hope when the only thing we could see was defeat and disappointment. Miranda’s work was one of the nominees in the Oscar for the Best Original Song of the year 2022 precisely because it tries to touch the deepest part of the human soul and speaks to us about realities that are not only part of the film but part of ourselves. «Music is an essential part of our biographical memory; any time in our life can be linked to a type of music, melody or song that helps us to remember, and stays with us from infancy to maturity adding sound to our development in society»[i].

A detail that makes this song special is that it manages to reach both an international and a national audience, international by talking about universal and human feelings and national by talking about the realities of a specific nation. In fact, although it was not composed by a Colombian, Colombia took it as its own as the song was completely related to the context and experiences that people in Colombia had gone through.

The general objective of this capstone is to explore the reasons why this song has impacted both in a national and international way, to ask ourselves what its importance has been and what has given it so much value. Other objective of this capstone is to give a small journey through Colombian history to understand the impact and influences that this song has had. Especially in three fields: Musical significance, historical significance, and poetic significance.

Relevant topics will be explored such as: The importance of music in society as a means of communication and creation of identity, as Wade wrote quoting Hall «national cultures help to ‘stitch up’ differences into one identity»[ii]; as well the history of Colombian music and its influences both external (Europe and Africa) and internal (Indigenous); the context and the history of Colombia in the way wars have affected the country; the ability to transmit images and feelings as a poetic message; its universality, being a message that mixes ancient and traditionalist music with a modern and progressive one; and the most important Colombian rhythms and instruments and their differences depending on the region, especially the rhythm that this song has: Vallenato, and its influence from the Magic realism of Gabriel García Márquez.

Vallenato is one of the folk music genres of Colombia, and it has been the subject of more books than any other Colombian folk or popular music genre. Most of these folklore books were written after the 1970s, that is, after the canonization of vallenato as a folk form. As was stated before, these texts reference Garcia Marquez’ chronicles and fictional writing as bibliographic sources in the construction of vallenato as a folk genre[iii].

In our formation as humanists, religious, and future priests we are called to prepare ourselves to reach out souls in the best way possible and music is as important and necessary as many other parts of our formation for preparing a heart that knows how to listen, except for our relationship with Christ which has no comparison.

This song shows us a splendid example of what we are called to do: To understand the reality of the other and in a certain sense to feel what that person feels, to form our capacity to suffer with the other. Two oruguitas is a song that carries with it a story that we are called to understand, a story of pain, but still, a story of hope. That is why the history of the culture behind a song and the history of the music that identifies a person are themes that cannot be taken separately when exploring a work like this.

Chapter 1
Musical Significance.

Each country has a unique musical identity, inspired by various causes, and recognized for its particular rhythms and characteristics, «This portrays a view of Colombian culture as moving from traditional diversity to modern unity through a process of nationalization and synthesis – the classic image of cultural mixture which harmonizes with ideas of racial mixture»[iv]. Many times, this identity shows its nationalist spirit by trying to share that mixture of diversity and unity with the world around it, and it is precisely this type of music that proves it. Musical nationalism intends to show through a melody the most important and significant values and characteristics of a country, it highlights with notes and chords the history and cultural context of a group of people, and it is precisely for this reason that this piece of music can be part of this “national music list”, because with its melody it transmits a purely Colombian feeling that, for this reason, does not stop being universal, as Sebastián yatra affirmed in an interview: «I think there are big chances of making history not only for Colombia but for the Spanish language and Latin artists in general»[v].

This song, like many other Colombian musical works, presents a very complete vision of the style of music that characterizes our country. «Music plays a very important role in our society in terms of cultural declaration; it is communication among individuals, reflecting the culture of which it forms a part»[vi]. Colombian music is full of that joy and happiness that has inspired and continues to inspire musicians in various countries, including composers, musicians, singers, and listeners. It fills us with emotion and feelings that express and highlight part of our history, and part of ourselves. And to a certain extent, it brings into our senses a reality with which we have already felt identified.

As mentioned above, one of the most necessary steps to understand a song’s importance and meaning is to understand the context, history, and evolution of the music behind the work, and to see how it affects the person who listens to it. For this reason, in this chapter we will first deal with the importance of music in society, which develops a taste in the person, formed from his early years until it becomes part of his own identity. Then we will explore in more depth the history of music in a specific culture, Colombia, its origin, the causes that influenced it and the rhythms and instruments that characterize it. And at the end we will explain how this song presents in a unique way the mixture of traditional and symbolic music, together with a more modern and contemporary one, and thus opens its doors to such a diverse audience in ages and tastes, demonstrating that music can indeed bring people together around a same feeling.

Importance of Music in Society

Music is essential for man because it can transmit feelings that words cannot express, «After speech, music is the most important sound made by Man»[vii]. Each person grows and is formed within a specific environment and is modified by a certain culture, which gives a common vision to its members. Music is also part of culture, and it builds our identity through the contact we have with it.

We have been created by God as sociable beings, beings who need communication to relate with others, and music has played a particularly key role in this communication. Here is where culture comes into play because a song endowed with the characteristics of a culture will transmit certain messages that only people who have knowledge about that culture can understand. But at the same time, it conveys universal messages that can reach everyone, as they are feelings that we have all experienced at some point.

«We say that music becomes symbolic for a group of individuals and transmits identity when songs or melodies appear with a value that is representative for a human group in a specific time and context»[viii]. Music is endowed with emotions that affect the human being and it is precisely because of these emotions that it becomes a symbol and generates identity in people. As has already been said before, music is a means of communication, and through that we receive messages and feelings expressed by someone with particular characteristics. This means the song’s symbolism is conditioned to each person’s tastes or experiences. In other words, music can express a specific message that the composer wanted to highlight and make symbolic, but it is mainly up to the conditions of the person whether to fully understand it or do not understand it at all, and here is where we can find the difference between those who hear music as a means of distraction and those who listen to it as a means of communication.

History of Colombian Music

Colombia is known internationally as the country of a thousand rhythms, and this is due to the amount of influence it has had from distinct cultures, especially the indigenous culture that already existed before colonization, the African culture brought as slaves, and the European and Spanish culture.

Music in Colombia began to develop after the arrival of the Spaniards, as there were already different indigenous tribes with their rhythms and instruments, among them the Muiscas, Tayronas, Caribes, Zanúes and Quimbayas. For them music was the way to express their rules and beliefs and was used for religious rituals through singing, dancing, and playing instruments. But, although there were already forms of musical communication before, the arrival of new instruments, rhythms and ideas gave a big boost both to the natives who already had their rhythm before, and to the Spaniards who stayed to live in the territory of New Granada.

The mixture of these two cultures was not the only one that occurred, because with the arrival of the Spaniards, there was also the arrival of African slaves from different tribes who also contributed their own means of communication. With the arrival of Africans in Colombia, the indigenous people created bridges of communication very easily because they both shared the same feeling of oppression by the Spaniards, but since they did not share the same language, music became the only source of communication between these two cultures. It is for this reason that music became essential for Africans and Indigenous in many regions of Colombia.

The presence of Europe in Colombia was marked in music thanks to the adaptation of many indigenous rhythms into something more appropriate for the Spaniards, in fact, they changed many of those indigenous musical expressions for religious songs, since the Spaniards considered them demonic. In this way Spanish music increased as the Spaniards populated the unfamiliar territory, and indigenous music diminished as the indigenous people were killed by the conquistadors. African music managed to survive thanks to its ability to carry rhythms that are mostly joyful. Spain influenced Colombia through musical instruments such as the guitar, the harp, the accordion, and some wind instruments. It also influenced in many musical forms such as the joropo, the seguidilla, the fandango and some Spanish melodies and harmonies. «The melodies of the Colombian songs form part of a general Western European melodic style. In any case, we can look to France or England as much as Spain for their origins»[ix], as well as lyrical poetry, romantic themes, Spanish lyrics, and some types of dances.

The first nationalist rhythm developed was the bambuco in the center of the country where the Andes Mountains are. There, as Wade explains «bambuco became a national music partly in response to the internationalization of the music industry» or quoting Rafael Pombo talking about bambuco: «A fusion of Indian melancholy, African fire and Andalucian wit – a classic moral trilogy in discourse about the Colombian nation»[x]. This happened towards the end of the nineteenth century when the European music was on its peak, then during the next century more African influence started to be developed bring new rhythms such as the Cumbia which became very common, all this known as costeño music, and at the end new forms of music arrived, especially the vallenato with great exponents such as Rafael Orozco, Diomedes Días, and Carlos Vives.

Rhythms and Instruments in Colombia

As mentioned above, Colombia is a country with an immense number of rhythms. Rhythms that have been formed thanks to European and African influence, and that have been varying depending on the place and the geographical conditions of that territory. Colombia is divided into six regions that show these internal cultural differences that bring about the particularity of each one of them, especially through their music.

Pacific Region: Here the Afro-Colombian population predominates which has had an enormous influence from the African that were brought as slaves and escaped during the period of Spanish colonization. In this region the rhythms that predominate are: The Bunde, the aguabajo, the contradanza, and the mapalé, but above all, the currulao is the most important. A particular feature of these rhythms is that percussion and drums are the most important instruments to accompany the melodies. The most common instruments of this region are the marimba de chonta, the bombo, cununo and tambora (drums) and the guasá (that is an African maraca).

Caribbean Region: This region was where the miscegenation between indigenous people, African slaves, and Spaniard colonizers took place the most. The most famous rhythms of this region are: Bullerengue, merengue, paseo, porro, puya, zafra, son, cumbia and vallenato, and their most common instruments are the Colombian gaita (Kuisi), the guacharaca and the accordion. It is in this region where the most important rhythms of Colombia are found, and where many of the best singers of Colombia have come from, Cumbia and Vallenato have influenced, not only in Colombia but in many other places in the world.

Cumbia, on the one hand, has had an African influence through the use of drums (as in the Pacific region), indigenous influence through wind instruments such as the Kuisi and the “flauta de Millo,” and Spanish influence through melody (as well as the Pacific currulao that has a leading melody with a choir that responds). An interesting fact about this musical genre is that in some dances women usually dance with a candle in their hands, which indicates that as in the movie, the candle has a deep meaning for this particular culture.

Vallenato, on the other hand, has also had an African influence thanks on the drums, but the Spanish influence comes thanks to the use of the accordion that characterizes it the most, and the indigenous influence is thanks to the use of the guacharaca that sets the principal rhythm. «Today vallenato is undoubtedly the most widespread Colombian popular music genre in the country and abroad and exists in a multiplicity of events, contexts, and instrumental formats»[xi]

 These two rhythms are the ones that most combine African, Indigenous, and European influences. From Spanish influence they also got rhythms and dances such as the jota, the fandango, and the seguidillas, which were later adapted by Colombian people.

Andean Region: In this region the European races mixed with indigenous predominate. From here comes the guabina and the bambuco rhythms, being the Bambuco the first predominate rhythm in Colombian history, as Wade said quoting the Colombian writer José María Samper « [There is] nothing more national, nothing more patriotic than this melody which counts all Colombians among its authors. It is the soul of our pueblo [people, nation] made into melody», or quoting Baldomero Sanín Cano «Bambuco resounds with the heartbeats [palpitaciones] of the fatherland»[xii]. whose influence is Spanish, and their instruments are especially stringed such as the tiple, the bandola (from Asia) and the guitar. There is also the Pasillo rhythm which is heavily influenced by the European waltz or “ballroom dance” coming from Vienna (Austria). It was known as the “vals del país” (country waltz), but as it became popular, it was called “Pasillo” (Hall). The instruments are the tiple and guitar for the melody and the maracas and “cucharas” (Spoons) for the accompaniment. And finally, there is also the Sanjuanero rhythm, which is remarkably close to bambuco in the use of stringed instruments. The instruments for this rhythm are the same as before but adding the requinto (a twelve-string guitar), the caña, the carrasca, the quiribillo, the pandereta (tambourine), the cuchara, and the aspa de caña (hoja de caña).

Orinoco Region: There is most indigenous music with a little of European influence since colonization came later. As in vallenato, it is sung by “vaqueros” (cowboys) and people dedicated to the countryside and livestock. The best-known rhythm of this region is the joropo, which has a fast and moving rhythm, the Spanish influence comes later through the dance done by pairs. The main instruments of this region are the cuatro, the maracas or capachos, and the harp.

Amazon Region: This region is made up of jungle, it is a little more isolated than the others due to the amount of wild flora and fauna that is found there, few people live there. Only some indigenous tribes remain, so this music is purely indigenous without influence from other cultures. Among the rhythms that can be found there are the Carimbó, the forró, some types of sambas, and the lambada. And they also adapt many of the rhythms of the neighboring regions using the flute or the Yuruparí (sacred flute for the tribes of the Amazon) and the manguaré.

Insular Region: This region is formed by the islands San Andrés and Providencia. So, it has similarities with the Caribbean region and has had a lot of external influence since many European ships passed through there. The most well-known rhythms are: The Polka, Mazurka, Foxtrot, Calypso and Mentó. It has also been influenced by Jamaica, Cuba, and the United States. Their most common instruments are the electric bass, guitar, drums, “mandolina” (mandolin), “tinaja” (jar), jawbone, violin, maracas, claves, and accordion.

Chapter 2
Cultural Significance

Music can be perceived in a unique way from a particular point of view, that is why in this chapter we will deal with the cultural history of Colombia, including political as well as economic aspects. We will see what the context of this country has been and how this context is deeply related to the central theme of the movie and especially to this song.

«Through particular melodies or sounds, we have recognized the social roots of our belonging to a particular culture; these enable us to recognize our past, situate us in a present and project a future»[xiii]. This chapter will briefly explain the Colombian context and history that influence the meaning of the song and will explore magic realism as a source of inspiration, recognizing with its works the difficulties and sorrows of Colombia, but also its riches and magic.

Context and History

After independence Colombia has always been a country marked by its constant civil wars, even from the first years when Simón Bolívar had given the freedom, two of its best generals entered continuous rivalries that generated the formation of groups or parties that would be formally founded in 1848 known as the conservative and the liberal party. The first being a right-wing, centralized, church-friendly body, and the second being left-wing, federal, and friendly to the people.

From its earliest days, Colombia was a conservative, centralist country that oppressed any hint of revolt, which in consequence generated more. In fact, many conservative presidents brutally persecuted political leaders of the other position, and thanks to this rejection, many states began to rebel in a more military camp, and civil wars arose to take over the presidency. There have been many civil wars in which sometimes liberals win and sometimes conservatives win. There have been nine changes of the Constitutions. Of the civil wars, the best known are: The War of the Thousand Days (1899-1902), The Violence “La Violencia” (1920-1958) with strong expressions such as the Bogotazo in April 1948, the period of “El Frente Nacional” (the National Front) (1960-1978) as the only measure to find a little momentary peace, and as a consequence, the emergence of the armed forces or guerrillas as illegal armed groups without political force that eventually became politically legal in 2016.

This whole context of war has been an incessant struggle between politicians, but those who have really paid the price of so much war, with their blood and their lives, have been the citizens. We have seen the realities of entire villages burned by the guerrillas, just to threaten the government, people who have lost their houses and have been forced to leave their homes in order to survive, a long list of people who have been kidnapped as hostages, who have suffered sexual exploitation, who have worked for the guerrillas themselves, or even to be trained as members of the guerrillas, as is the case with children.

Colombia has become a very insecure country where nobody knows if the government is there to protect them or take advantage of them, where many people are killed by the government with the plan to lie showing their anti-guerrilla advances when all they did was destroy innocent lives. This situation that happened to the Madrigal family in the movie and is clearly expressed in the song is the situation that hundreds of Colombian families have gone through.

Magic Realism by Gabriel García Márquez

When Lin Manuel Miranda was asked during an interview if the metaphor of the song was inspired by the golden butterflies that evoke the favorite motif of Gabriel García Márquez Lin Manuel Miranda stated: «Absolutely. The song itself was absolutely inspired by the visual metaphor that the animation team was already playing with»[xiv]. Looking at the context of the film it is remarkable that it has many characteristics that corroborate it, but one gesture that really draws attention is the yellow butterfly that is mentioned in Gabriel García Márquez’s book, One Hundred Years Of Solitude, that became a symbol for that book, and in the same way it became a symbol for this song, since the yellow butterfly is the representation of the miracle that takes place throughout the lyrics of the song.

Magic Realism in literature presents a story that has mixtures of real events with ones that are unreal, fictional, magic. In the same way this song presents the magic of Colombia that has always been known thanks to its richness in flora and fauna that are extremely attractive for their charm (Encanto). «Historically, vallenato’s rise in popularity coincides with the rise to prominence of magical realism as the lens through which to read Latin American and, particularly, Colombian creativity in the traffic of global interpretive framework»[xv]. With this song we try to explore all these realities that Magic Realism talks about, realities that are transmitted through a story that combines real events, such as the forced displacement of peasants, and fantastic events, such as the reality of the miracle being the only way that brings salvation to the family. It is impressive to see how in his images, in his story, and even in his very meaning there is this reality that Márquez wanted to share with us so much, a meaning that will be explored in the next chapter.

Chapter 3
Poetic Significance

The story that this song tells us is the path that two caterpillars must travel to make possible what they are called to do, to lock themselves in their chrysalises so they can be reborn as butterflies to meet again after having reached their fulfillment. It describes how time changes, as the song goes: “A world that never stops turning” and affects the caterpillars who know that the time of separation is going to come but do not want to accept that this moment is imminent. Finally, they learn to give up themselves when they tear down those walls of the old world and open up to a new and much more beautiful reality. This story is full of magic that combines realities as normal as separation and the need to be prepared for it, along with realities as magic as the ability to be reborn much more complete than before.

Images and Feelings

“The life of two caterpillars who love each other and do not want to be separated but who must do so to make the miracle possible” is the tragic story of Abuela (Grandmother) Alma, who established the Madrigal family in their new home. She, like the caterpillar, was forced to be separated from her beautiful and prosperous life when members of the guerrilla attacked her town and killed her husband Pedro. She is forced to suffer that change by a world that never stops turning, a world that does not even give her time to say goodbye. But it is precisely this separation that gives Abuela Alma the miracle to move on with her life and be the foundation of the family. The separation was necessary to open the way for the miracle, a situation that is constantly repeated in the current situation of the movie at that moment, Abuela must accept the family as it is, she must be separated from her ideal or expectative of the “perfect family”, and in a certain sense, she must let the miracle go away, to allow a new miracle to be performed again.

This song has an extremely high degree of symbolism, showing through images much deeper realities. All this shows the reality of many families who have suffered the same thing: Couples that have been separated by force, fathers, mothers, children killed by unjust causes and stories of pain that have shown us the wors part of life. It represents a current reality, and that is why it touches the hearts of Colombians.

The melody of this song is composed with vallenato rhythm, and in the background of this song it is easy to feel that Colombian essence behind it. The instruments, the rhythm, the atmosphere, the intonation, the singer himself, everything is made in such a way that the Colombian who listens to it feels that it is his song, a song that corresponds to his identity, a means of communication that is telling him about his history. The song was composed in such a way that the person felt that the song was already part of him, Lin Manuel Miranda says: «I wanted it to feel like a song that always existed»[xvi]. But that at the same time is telling something new. The feelings that this music brings are feelings of sadness and nostalgia because of the pain that it shows and all the things that the country had gone through, but also feelings of joy and hope while talking about the miracle, and even feelings of pride for using own music to tell this message.

Given that the use of images and feelings can be found very clearly in this song, we can say that it has a poetic value, which speaks to us of many topics in different layers. It can reach as deep as the listener can reach depending on his context and culture, and for that reason this song is universal, because although it speaks to us of a particular reality of a country, It also shares experiences that many other people have felt in different places, feelings that most of us have experienced at some point, such as the pain of losing a loved one, the insecurity of a world that is much bigger than us, or even the fear of an uncertain future.

All those experiences that the story wants to transmit can even reach more existential and profound realities such as the hope of receiving salvation (the miracle of which it speaks so much), and the certainty of receiving life even after death (like in the chrysalises). In this way, Two Oruguitas presents us a message that still explores Colombia from another point of view: Its spirituality. Colombia has always been a mostly Catholic country with people deeply rooted in their faith, and this song also carries this part of Colombia. It speaks to us through images about the teaching given by Christ of the need to die in order to live, the hope that after a farewell there will be a re-encounter in a much more perfect place.

Mix of Traditional and Modern Music

As mentioned above, Two Oruguitas is a universal song that seeks to reach all people from diverse cultures through the virtues and humanistic values that we all share. But, just as this universality unites Colombians together with people of other cultures, it also unites the same Colombians who are culturally divided by many reasons, «diversity is part and parcel of nation-building… Diversity is necessary to nationalist ideas»[xvii].

Colombia’s culture has been in continuous change. «Cultural identity is an incessant mediation between tradition and renewal, permanence and transformation, emotion and knowledge»[xviii]. This means that a culture changes with the continuous process of combining tradition with renewal, in the same way that traditional music is a mixture of European, African, and Indigenous people, modern music is a mixture of traditional music with new styles of music, and in the same way can be part of one’s identity. And this song shows it very clearly, because by being a song of vallenato rhythm that has all the instruments and characteristics of this genre and represents and makes Colombia proud, it combines it with much more modern forms of expression, such as Pop. Although it is considered a Pop song, if the listener pays attention to its rhythm behind and its expression form, that person will realize that it is vallenato.

In this way and for that reason, this song continues to unite Colombians divided by their age, touches the identity of adult Colombians who grew up listening to vallenato music, and touches young people’s hearts who have been growing up with a culture more focused on Pop and more modern rhythms. In the same way that it combines something that is traditional and symbolic with something modern and progressive, it also mixes our homogeneity with our diversity. And it is precisely because of this ability to reach people regardless of their background, country, culture, or age, that this song has received so much appreciation from a lot of people.

Conclusion

Two Oruguitas is an example that shows the importance of music to transmit a message, which many times cannot be transmitted even with words. It is an example of how a song can represent so much for a person, a group of people and an identity. This work teaches us how to understand the feelings of someone and share those emotions with that person.

Lin Manuel Miranda teaches us with his music something that any humanist should have, the ability to be a citizen of all cultures, to be open and feel what the other feels, receive what other cultures want to share, and be able to give what we can give. Lin Manuel Miranda, being a U.S. citizen with a Puerto Rican ancestry, traveled to Colombia and got to know our culture so well that he managed to express, with something as simple as the combination of notes and instruments, all the significant cultural weight that surrounds this song. Miranda has to open to a new culture and that is why its fruit has become so pure and full of identity.

The union of various cultures to transmit ideals, the ability to embrace and understand the entire historical context of culture, the willingness to reach out to the other in order to bring a message, all these are objectives that we as legionaries want to achieve, and the first step for this is to open ourselves to a world that is placed in front of us, to open our doors to every culture, language, tradition and identity that we encounter in our journey, and all this is taught to us in the humanities. So, we must take advantage of this opportunity to learn to really open our hearts to others, to let down those walls that prevent us from opening the doors to the gift, to the miracle, that is Christ who invites us to change the world for him, or as the song goes:

“Ay, mariposas, do not you hold on too tight, both of you know it is your time to go, to fly apart, to reunite. Wonders surround you, just let the walls come down. Do not look behind you, fly till you find your way toward tomorrow.”

[i] J. HORMIGOS, «Music Distribution in the Consumer Society: The Creation of Cultural Identities Through Sound», Comunicar, 17/34 (2010), 91-98, 94

[ii] P. WADE, «Music, Blackness, and National Identity: Three Moments in Colombian History», Popular Music, 17/1 (1998), 1-19, 2

[iii] A. OCHOA, «García Márquez, Macondismo, and the Soundscapes of Vallenato», Popular Music, 24/2 (2005), 207-222, 214

[iv] P. WADE, «Music, Blackness, and National Identity: Three Moments in Colombian History», Popular Music, 17/1 (1998), 1-19, 13

[v] S. Ratner-Arias, «Oscars 2022: Sebastián Yatra calls ‘Encanto’ a gift from God», 2022, in https://apnews.com/article/academy-awards-entertainment-colombia-movies-lin-manuel-miranda-8f22295167aa084365634d7341be2fd0?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share (referenced on March 15, 2024)

[vi] J. HORMIGOS, «Music Distribution in the Consumer Society: The Creation of Cultural Identities Through Sound», Comunicar, 17/34 (2010), 91-98, 92

[vii] J. HORMIGOS, «Music Distribution in the Consumer Society: The Creation of Cultural Identities Through Sound», Comunicar, 17/34 (2010), 91-98, 94

[viii] J. HORMIGOS, «Music Distribution in the Consumer Society: The Creation of Cultural Identities Through Sound», Comunicar, 17/34 (2010), 91-98, 93

[ix] G. LIST, « A Comparison of Certain Aspects of Colombian and Spanish Folksong», Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council, 5 (1973), 72-84, 82

[x] P. WADE, «Music, Blackness, and National Identity: Three Moments in Colombian History», Popular Music, 17/1 (1998), 1-19, 8

[xi] A. OCHOA, «García Márquez, Macondismo, and the Soundscapes of Vallenato», Popular Music, 24/2 (2005), 207-222, 209

[xii] P. WADE, «Music, Blackness, and National Identity: Three Moments in Colombian History», Popular Music, 17/1 (1998), 1-19, 7

[xiii] J. HORMIGOS, «Music Distribution in the Consumer Society: The Creation of Cultural Identities Through Sound», Comunicar, 17/34 (2010), 91-98, 94

[xiv] L. Zornosa, «Lin-Manuel Miranda on Writing Lyrics in Spanish and the Heartbreak of Dos Oruguitas», 2022, in https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/movies/lin-manuel-miranda-encanto-oscars.html?bgrp=t&smid=url-share (referenced on March 15, 2024)

[xv] A. OCHOA, «García Márquez, Macondismo, and the Soundscapes of Vallenato», Popular Music, 24/2 (2005), 207-222, 207

[xvi] L. Zornosa, «Lin-Manuel Miranda on Writing Lyrics in Spanish and the Heartbreak of Dos Oruguitas», 2022, in https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/movies/lin-manuel-miranda-encanto-oscars.html?bgrp=t&smid=url-share (referenced on March 15, 2024)

[xvii] P. WADE, «Music, Blackness, and National Identity: Three Moments in Colombian History», Popular Music, 17/1 (1998), 1-19, 4

[xviii] J. HORMIGOS, «Music Distribution in the Consumer Society: The Creation of Cultural Identities Through Sound», Comunicar, 17/34 (2010), 91-98, 94