TheCarnavalito (English:little carnival) is a traditionalindigenous dance from the ArgentinianAltiplano andpuna regions, usually performed during religious festivities.[1] Its current form is an expression of a syncretism betweenPre-Columbian and Spanish colonial culture.[2] It is a collective dance which is joyful in nature.[citation needed]
It was danced in the Americas long before the Spanish arrived. Today, it is still danced in theArgentine provinces ofSalta andJujuy, as well as in southernBolivia and otherAndean regions ofLatin America.[3] The music is characterized by the use of instruments such as thequena,siku,charangos and thebombo.
The dance is set staged in groups or with multiple partners who perform choreographed steps to the beat of the music. The dancers move around the musicians in a row. A woman or a man holding a handkerchief (or a pennant decorated with ribbons) is responsible for directing the choreography. They all sing the same verse or improvisations.[citation needed]
TheCarnavalito is primarily in a minor pentatonic mode, with simple i - V harmony throughout.[4] However certain other Charangos[5] make use of a vii - III - V - i progression.
Certain Carnavalitos have a free, strummed intro by the Charangos player.
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