Book Description

From the introduction by Pru Devon: “There are various ways of assembling a song collection. The most common procedure seems to be that of gathering together the most familiar and therefore the slightly hackneyed ones in the belief that since they are so well-known it follows they must be the best. Another and far more challenging approach is to collect a great many song from a broad assortment of areas, to evaluate carefully each one, finally selecting a group that gives a truly cross-sectional representation. This is obviously how Elena Paz has succeeded in gathering together this excellent collection of songs. . . . They are the sort of songs that people actually sing. Many have proved their strength and merit by having endured in the people’s hearts for many generations while others, equally representative are actually “living folkmusic”. Lullabies and children’s songs are usually immigrants that came with the colonists from the “old country”, such as A la Nanita Nana. These have wide dispersal and are sung in slightly differing ways from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego. Others reflect episodes in the evolution of a republic, such as the various songs that grew out of the Mexican revolution. They run a fine gamut of expression and mood and offer a just and attractive sampling of the wealth of Latin American music.