Gaita zuliana

Gaita zuliana (often simply called "gaita") is a style of Venezuelan folk music (and dance) from Maracaibo, Zulia State. Dating as far back as the 1800s, gaitas began as improvised songs in the neighborhoods of Zulia where, as Robert T. Carroll describes, “people would gather in a circle and encourage each other to make up verses to a song." Gaita incorporates various instrumentations and rhythms from Spanish, Indigenous and African music. According to Joan Coromines, it may come from the word "gaits," the Gothic word for "goat", which is the skin generally used for the membrane of the furro drum. Other instruments used in gaita include maracas, cuatro, charrasca and tambora. The style became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and it fused with other styles such as salsa and merengue in the 1970s. It is not to be confused with the gaita escocesa, also known simply as gaita, which is Spanish for bagpipes. This is a very distinctive genre, very strongly sung, with the chorus sung by several singers, and with local rhythms, this genre is the distinctive genre of Christmas in Venezuela. Although gaitas are most commonly heard around Christmas time, there are various themes pres