Chamamé

Chamamé is a folk music genre from the Argentine Northeast, Mesopotamia ("Litoral") and the south of Brazil. Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul.

Jesuit Reductions in the area encouraged cultural growth that lasted until the Jesuits were expelled by the Spanish Crown in the late 18th century. Within this area, Yapeyú Corrientes was a centre of musical culture that many point to as the birthplace of the original Chamamé. Further mixing with instruments such as the Spanish guitar, then the violin and the accordion, finally resulted in what we currently know as "Chamamé". There are recordings of Chamamé dating back to the early 20th century, and the term 'Chamamé' was already used in 1931; this type of music, prior to that, was often referred to as the Corrientes' Polka.