Who We Are
The term "Los Parranderos" is close in meaning to the expression "The Party Goers" and refers to happiness, laughter, and a good disposition to enjoy life.
The group started back in 1996 when a small circle of friends — all Venezuelan immigrants — decided to revive the Venezuelan tradition of going door-to-door singing Christmas Carols to their neighbours. That's how this amateur musical group saw its origins, and started playing different rhythms of Venezuela's Christmas musical repertoire.
Nowadays, the group consists of about 16–20 participants, under the direction of Maria Luces, whose dedication, knowledge, and patience have been instrumental in shaping this group of amateur musicians.
The group starts its performances in November and continues all through the Christmas season, having shows at Granville Island, Canada Place, Cypress Mountain, local schools, Grouse Mountain, churches, community centres, restaurants, senior homes, and other venues around Metro Vancouver.
Los Parranderos are not musicians. Instead, they are "happy people with musical homesickness" who are thrilled to share their rhythms and enthusiasm with Vancouverites, Canadians, and their guests.
We sing "Aguinaldos", "Parrandas", and "Gaitas" — Venezuelan Christmas Carols.
A folk genre of Christmas music derived from the Spanish "Villancicos". In Venezuela, aguinaldos are often performed by parranderos — a casual group of people, often family or friends, who go from house to house. The aguinaldo song is interpreted not only to religious motives, but also to the humanity of the Joy of Christmas. Aguinaldos are generally comprised of six verses which can be specially composed or improvised.
The name of a Venezuelan folk music form from Maracaibo, Zulia state. It is a genre associated with Christmas all over the country. Themes range from love songs to religious figures and even humorous subjects of complaint. The style became popular throughout Venezuela in the 1960s, and fused with other styles such as salsa and merengue in the 1970s.
An Afro-Indigenous musical form played in various coastal states in Venezuela. They can also refer to a traditional carnival-like street party with origins dating back to the 18th century. In general terms, we refer to Parrandas as musical festivities during the Christmas season holidays.
Members of the group felt the need to expand beyond Christmas themes and perform year-round, giving birth to several additional groups.