The 8 sones of the Tamunangue of El Tocuyo

Q: How many sones does the Tamunangue of El Tocuyo have?

The Tamunangue has **seven dance sones** plus **La Batalla**, which many sources count as the eighth piece or as the prior opening. In traditional order: **La Batalla, La Bella, La Juruminga, El Yiyivamos, El Poco a Poco, La Perrendenga, El Galerón, and El Seis Corrido** (also called Seis Figuriao).

Q: What is the order of the sones of the Tamunangue?

The traditional order is: **1. La Batalla** (opening with the stick game, or juego de garrote), **2. La Bella**, **3. La Juruminga**, **4. El Yiyivamos**, **5. El Poco a Poco**, **6. La Perrendenga**, **7. El Galerón**, and **8. El Seis Corrido** (festive closing in 6/8).

Q: Which is the best-known son of the Tamunangue?

**El Poco a Poco** is the most recognizable outside Lara: it imitates the walk of an old man with humor and tenderness. **La Bella** and **El Seis Corrido** are also emblematic, for their choreography and energy respectively.

Q: On what date is the Tamunangue danced?

The Tamunangue is danced mainly on **June 13**, the feast day of **Saint Anthony of Padua (San Antonio de Padua)**, as a promise payment to the saint. It is also danced on other dates throughout the year when someone fulfills a promise, at patron-saint festivities, and at cultural festivals.

Q: Where is the Tamunangue danced?

The Tamunangue is danced mainly in **El Tocuyo, the Humocaros, Guárico, Sanare, Curarigua, and other towns of the south-central part of Lara state**. It has been declared **National Cultural Heritage (Bien de Interés Cultural de la Nación)** since **June 5, 2014**.

La Batalla, La Bella, La Juruminga, El Yiyivamos, El Poco a Poco, La Perrendenga, El Galerón, and El Seis Corrido: meaning, dance, lyrics, and history of each son of the Tamunangue.

The Tamunangue, the music-and-dance tradition of El Tocuyo and Morán Municipality, Lara state, is made up of a ritual sequence of seven dance sones preceded by La Batalla, for a total of eight pieces performed as a promise payment to Saint Anthony of Padua (San Antonio de Padua). Each son has its own character, rhythm, lyrics, and dance, and together they tell a story: that of the people of El Tocuyo honoring their saint.

Traditional order of the 8 sones of the Tamunangue

La Batalla — martial, manly, ceremonial.
La Bella — galant, elegant, courteous.
La Juruminga — mischievous, joyful, playful, communal.
El Yiyivamos — vibrant, contagious, youthful.
El Poco a Poco — mischievous, theatrical, humorous, with popular tenderness.
La Perrendenga — flirty, defiant, lively.
El Galerón — solemn, poetic, contemplative, devotional.
El Seis Corrido (or Seis por Ocho) — festive, virtuous, triumphant.

The Tamunangue has been declared National Cultural Heritage (Bien de Interés Cultural de la Nación) since June 5, 2014. For more, see the general guide to the Tamunangue.

Each son in detail

Click on each son to read its meaning, see its traditional lyrics, learn its dance, and discover its history.

Son 1

La Batalla

Martial, manly, ceremonial

Ritual opening of the Tamunangue. Two men armed with sticks or staves face each other in a dance-fight from Tocuyo stick fighting, offering the first promise payment to Saint Anthony of Padua.

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Son 2

La Bella

Galant, elegant, courteous

First danced son of the Tamunangue (its name means "The Beautiful Woman"). The couple dances elegantly while the musicians sing courtship verses. The lady, dressed in finery, plays with her handkerchief in a gesture of ritual flirtation.

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Son 3

La Juruminga

Mischievous, joyful, playful, communal

Cheerful and festive son of the Tamunangue. Mischievous couplets, choreographic games among the dancers and improvised figures in a circle. It is the moment of the collective party.

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Son 4

El Yiyivamos

Vibrant, contagious, youthful

Rhythmic son whose name comes from the refrain «yi yi vamos» (roughly "yi yi, let's go"). It accelerates the pulse of the Tamunangue and links to the liveliest closing sones. It is one of the most vibrant moments of the promise payment.

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Son 5

El Poco a Poco

Mischievous, theatrical, humorous, with popular tenderness

One of the most characteristic and beloved sones of the Tamunangue (its name means "Little by Little"). It is danced by imitating the walk of an old man who falls and gets up, with verse and mime that draw laughter and applause.

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Son 6

La Perrendenga

Flirty, defiant, lively

Son that challenges and courts at the same time. It combines elegance with a lively rhythm; the verses playfully tease between man and woman. One of the sones with the most flirtatious nuance in the Tamunangue.

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Son 7

El Galerón

Solemn, poetic, contemplative, devotional

Solemn and profound son of the Tamunangue, with a broad melody and long sung passages. It is reminiscent of the eastern Venezuelan galerón but in a distinctly Lara style, full of poetry and devotion.

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Son 8

El Seis Corrido (or Seis por Ocho)

Festive, virtuous, triumphant

Triumphant closing of the Tamunangue. A very fast son in 6/8 meter in which the dancers display their best footwork and the musicians their virtuosity. The final crowning of the promise payment.

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Why people say seven or eight sones of the Tamunangue

The tradition sometimes refers to seven sones (the dance pieces proper: La Bella through Seis Corrido) and at other times to eight, including La Batalla as an integral part of the Tamunangue. The difference is one of nomenclature: the ceremonial repertoire is always the same and is always performed in the same order.

Instruments of the Tamunangue

Cuatro (4-string Venezuelan guitar): the main string instrument, providing the harmonic base.
Cinco (5-string): a Venezuelan string variant widely used in Tamunangue.
Cumaco drum or requinto: leather drums that mark the rhythm.
Maracas: provide the characteristic percussive pulse.
Guitar: melodic accompaniment in some modern lineups.

Related resources

Frequently asked questions about the sones of the Tamunangue

How many sones does the Tamunangue of El Tocuyo have?

The Tamunangue has seven dance sones plus La Batalla, which many sources count as the eighth piece or as the prior opening. In traditional order: La Batalla, La Bella, La Juruminga, El Yiyivamos, El Poco a Poco, La Perrendenga, El Galerón, and El Seis Corrido (also called Seis Figuriao).

What is the order of the sones of the Tamunangue?

The traditional order is: 1. La Batalla (opening with the stick game, or juego de garrote), 2. La Bella, 3. La Juruminga, 4. El Yiyivamos, 5. El Poco a Poco, 6. La Perrendenga, 7. El Galerón, and 8. El Seis Corrido (festive closing in 6/8).

Which is the best-known son of the Tamunangue?

El Poco a Poco is the most recognizable outside Lara: it imitates the walk of an old man with humor and tenderness. La Bella and El Seis Corrido are also emblematic, for their choreography and energy respectively.

On what date is the Tamunangue danced?

The Tamunangue is danced mainly on June 13, the feast day of Saint Anthony of Padua (San Antonio de Padua), as a promise payment to the saint. It is also danced on other dates throughout the year when someone fulfills a promise, at patron-saint festivities, and at cultural festivals.

Where is the Tamunangue danced?

The Tamunangue is danced mainly in El Tocuyo, the Humocaros, Guárico, Sanare, Curarigua, and other towns of the south-central part of Lara state. It has been declared National Cultural Heritage (Bien de Interés Cultural de la Nación) since June 5, 2014.