A lyric song form of Paraguay and northern Argentina. The baguala is characterized by melodies that use only the three pitches of a single major triad. Accompanied by the caja (frame drum) and tambor (bass drum), it is typically performed in Carnival season by men, women and children, grouped in a circle and singing choruses in unison and in octaves, while a leader uses falsetto and kenko (appoggiatura and vocal ornamentation) in the rendition of the main text. Bagualas are often sung as part of the music performed at the ritual marking of animals in the Argentine pampa and northern provinces, the seņalada, accompanied by the erkencho (single reed concussion aerophone) and snare drum.
WILLIAM GRADANTE/R