Advent Calendar: Parrandas

Advent Calendar:

Dec 17
PARRANDAS

We are music, you and I. And, I, the music, am especially raucous in the Caribbean where PRs (and Cubans and Dominicans), make up for more than a fair share of the sonic din. And at Christmas time - get this - we step it up. Salsa. Timba. Bachata. Merengue. They are all part of the frenzied party that is the holidays. But if you’re really lucky you are rewarded by being further sensually assaulted.
You’d be treated to a parranda that is. Part Mardi Gras, part hootenanny, a parranda or an asalto navideño (nativity assault) is an instantaneous party that is visited on you in the middle of the night. And, while the more typical musical forms might be played, it is a celebration of our agrarian roots. The instrumentation is purely Puerto Rican as are the forms of the music themselves, PR folk genres clearly associated with Christmas, like the Aguinaldo and the Decima.
As a young man I moved to Puerto Rico, finding myself one Christmas living on the rural west end of the island. My uncle, a musician, would be invited to partake in these instantaneous parties. A tremendous cuatro musician, he and his equally fabulous guitar-playing son Felix were in heavy demand. (We'd have to sneak Felix out so as not to infuriate my Pentacostal aunt.) People would anxiously confirm with him as to when they could schedule a parranda as a surprise for some loved one. And he was eager to please. Every night for a month we would haunt the barrios like some merry pranksters. Now, as a little rock and roll thug from New Jersey you wouldn't think this would interest me. You'd be wrong. This was so fascinating, culturally, musically, and in every possible way. We’d gather somewhere, park the cars, and silently schlep up some mountainside, springing our blitz festival. The host would beam because it is considered a compliment that someone thinks enough about you to do this. And it is. The host would bring out the food, the ron pitorro (white lightning) and IT WAS ON. The whole barrio would wake up and we’d party till the Roosters crowed. Best damned month of my life.