Zamba

The zamba is a folk song and couple dance from northwestern Argentina, especially Salta and Tucumán, and one of the emblematic genres of Argentine folklore. Danced in a slow, swaying 6/8, with partners circling one another and waving white handkerchiefs, it is performed by a singer with guitar accompaniment and the deep pulse of the bombo legüero drum. Its melodies are lyrical and its texts overwhelmingly nostalgic — evocations of landscape, absent lovers and the lost past — distinguishing it from the livelier chacarera of neighbouring Santiago del Estero. Composers such as *Gustavo Leguizamón* and *Ariel Ramírez* raised it to concert stature.