Chacarera, gato and escondido

The center-north-west area begins in the landlocked province of Santiago del Estero. It presents traditional rhythms like chacarera, gato and escondido, which are indistinctly performed by soloists, duets or bands using guitars or bombo legüero, a percussion instrument from Santiago del Estero. There are also occasional variants like remedio and arunguita, all of them danceable. In the area of Salavina, due to the fact that Quechua language is deeply rooted, the expression is bilingual; there, music also includes violin and vidala, which is sung preferably by a duet and without any choreography. The south of the province of Córdoba is highly influenced by Cuyo music; in the area of Tulumba it is chacarera that is characteristic; in the rest of the province, zamba, jota cordobesa, bailecito cordobés and gato.

In La Rioja chaya and vidalita riojana prevail whereas in Tucumán it is zamba that stands out, with a great dissemination all over the country. Zamba as a dance is regarded as the national dance. In Salta there is the epicenter of zamba, although baguala, sung by a duet and in counterpoint is also important. Finally, in the province of Jujuy, the Puna is followed by the Bolivian altiplane, establishing a current of undoubted musical sympathy. Concerning this last region, we must mention huayno, cueca, yaraví, triste, bailecito and carnavalito; all these compositions are performed indistinctly by soloists, duets or bands. Guitars, bass drums and eminently traditional instruments like caja, and woodwinds like quena, pincullo, anata and erke. The danceable version of these rhythms are all dances with a non-embracing couple.