Musics of the World Week # 5

Title- El Maraquero

Performers- Strings of Fire featuring Carlos Caro and Orquidea

Culture- South American/Venezuela

Orchestration- Harp, maracas, acoustic guitar, conga drums, bongos and wind chimes.



I came across this video of a group of musicians performing a selection entitled "El

Maraquero. The first thing that instantly caught my attention was the name of the

performer; Strings of Fire. I knew I was in for a musical treat even before I started

watching the video. El Maraquero has a style in which there is a lively samba type

feel to the music with the accompaniment of a harp. Just when you think there is

nothing else to the performance, the performers briefly shift gears at 5:03 and allows

the harp player to begin the second section with a more elegant style. The bongos,

maracas, and guitar gradually eased back into the performance by picking up

the groove back to it's original tempo. I feel that creativity is definitely incorporated

and quite noticeable in this video. The solo performances of the harp and maracas added

musical creativity which also led to audience engagement . The performers ability of

significant improvisation assisted with the music creativity of this performance. As

music educators we should encourage creativity in all realms of music. If we continue

or implement music creativity; I feel that our students will grasp an understanding and

an appreciation of the craft of music.