SONGS OF THE  SOUTH

Marimbas appeared in Mundo Maya in the late 16th century, along with a shipment of African slaves.

Text and photos by David Díaz Gómez

"Jungle become melody, woods singing with a woman's voice," says a popular song describing the marimba, undoubtedly the best-known musical instrument of Mundo Maya.

    American musician Laurence Kaplan describes the marimba as "a type of xylophone (1) designed as a table. The wooden slats, or keys, are laid on a board and under each key is a resonance box on a pyramidal base. The longer slats produce the lower tones and the shorter the keys, the higher the notes; they are laid on the keyboard from shortest to longest."

    The marimba-like drums and flutes-is universal, and can be found in all areas of tropical climate. In Cuba, Ecuador, Colombia and Barbados, marimbas have not evolved beyond the commonly found, rustic, single-keyboard instruments; they are played on the ground or hanging from the musician's neck. Marimbas in Mundo Maya are raised on long carved legs and have beautiful double-rowed keyboards, conferring upon them the harmonic richness of a piano.

    Guatemala and the Mexican State of Chiapas shared the honor of developing the modern, double-rowed marimba. Enthusiasts in Guatemala speak of a mysterious codex and a pre-Hispanic figurine portraying an artist playing an instrument similar to a marimba. In Jiquipilas, Chiapas, in 1545, a Spanish explorer claimed he saw a musical instrument with eight wooden slats tied together with string, played by the natives during important ceremonies.

    Up to 1896, the marimba had a single row of keys, with no half tones. It was the famed musician Corazón Borraz who added the second row of keys-equivalent to the black keys on a piano-expanding the instrument's musical scope to include any kind of music.

    The raw material from which marimbas are made is the wood of the hormiguillo (ant) tree (Platymiscium dimorphandum), which grows in the temperate forests of Central America and gets its name from the insects that are constantly attracted by it sweet resin.

    A large, concert-size marimba can have up to 78 keys. The keyboard is an irregular rectangle with two equal sides measuring nearly 9 feet long, one end slightly over 3 and a half feet wide, near the base keys and the other, just a foot wide, at the treble end of the board. An instrument can weigh up to 130 lbs. and is raised on three-foot-high legs. To play it, four musicians use drumsticks made of light-weight, resistant wood; the first, from left to right, plays the base tones, with a stick in each hand. The second plays the harmonics and "accompanies" or supports the piece, with either one or two sticks per hand; then comes the melody section of this miniature orchestra: the third musician, who "builds" or recreates the musical piece. He is the leader of the group and the musical director, playing with two sticks per hand. Next to him stands the last member of the group, the one in charge of producing the treble counterpoint to the director's playing.

    In Guatemala, the marimba is considered a national monument, the banner of Guatemalan music. Chiapanecos use the instrument as their calling card, a reflection of the light-hearted and vibrant soul character of the inhabitants of southeastern Mexico. So beloved is this instrument, which you will often hear from those caught up in the heat of the marimba's song: "When I die, lay me out on the keyboard of a marimba."