Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE MARIMBA
The marimba is considered the national instrument, although scholars cannot agree whether this xylophone-type
instrument already existed in Africa long before and was brought to Guatemala early on by slaves. Marimbas can
be heard throughout the country, often in restaurants or in plazas in the cool of an evening.
The earliest marimbas used a succession of increasingly large gourds as the resonator pipes, but modern
marimbas are more commonly fitted with wooden pipes, though you may see the former type in more traditional
settings. The instrument is usually played by three men and there is a carnival-like quality to its sound and com-
positions.
Jazz buffs should be familiar with the sound of the marimba - the instrument became hip in the 1940s when
jazz greats such as Glenn Miller started to include it in their compositions.
