¡Zúmbale primo! El estilo “ranchero-tropical” en la actualidad mapuche

The Mapuche people and their nation cross borders and identities. Their ancestral territory, called Wallmapu, transcends the national boundaries of Chile and Argentina. This article approaches the ways in which the Mexican song repertoire, brought to the Southern Cone a little over a century ago, has permeated this indigenous society. The so-called ranchera music has had strong roots within Mapuche communities for years, to an extent that today, its aesthetics and sounds have given way to a new genre in the territory, called “cumbia ranchero-tropical”, a hybrid rhythm that includes elements of the Mexican corrido, the ranchera song and Caribbean music, enjoying wide dissemination and a significant number of listeners and associated events. This music scene is a recent one, which, in addition to its contributions to the festive aspects of Mapuche culture, has also begun to incorporate discourses oriented toward protest and critique concerning historical controversies between the Mapuche, the State and the economic elite, while achieving a trans-Andean presence of remarkable scope.