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{{Short description|Popular folk music originating from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago}}
{{Other uses|Parang (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Farang}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Parang
| stylistic_origins = [[Joropo]], [[Jota music|Jota]], [[Venezuelan music]], [[Latin American music]], [[Music of Spain|Spanish music]], [[Trinidadian music]]
| cultural_origins  = [[Venezuela]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]]
| derivatives       =
| subgenrelist      =
| subgenres         =
| fusiongenres      = [[Chutney parang]] and Parang soca
| regional_scenes   =
| local_scenes      = 
}}
{{Music of Trinidad and Tobago}}

[[File:2012_Trinidad_&_Tobago_parang.jpg | thumb | right]]
'''Parang''' is a popular folk music originating from [[Venezuela]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]] that was brought to [[Trinidad and Tobago]] by [[Venezuelans|Venezuelan]] migrants<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Atherton |first=Avah |date=23 December 2021 |title=The Surprising Origins of Parang, Trinidad and Tobago’s Christmas Folk Music |url=https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/parang-trinidad-tobago-christmas-folk-music |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |language=en-US}}</ref> who were primarily of [[Amerindian]], [[Spanish people|Spanish]], [[Mestizo]], [[Pardo]], and [[Afro-Venezuelan|African]] heritage, something which is strongly reflected in the music itself. The word is derived from two Spanish words: ''parranda'', meaning "a spree”, and ''parar'' meaning "to stop".

In the past, it was traditional for parang serenaders to pay nocturnal visits to the homes of family and friends, where part of the fun was waking the inhabitants of the household from their beds. Today, parang is especially vibrant in Trinidad and Tobago communities such as [[Paramin]], [[Lopinot]], and [[Arima]].

A new form of parang, soca parang, has emerged. '''Soca parang''' is a combination of [[Soca music|soca]] and parang.

==Performance==
In Trinidad, traditional parang music is largely performed around Christmastime,<ref name=":0" /> when singers and instrumentalists (collectively known as the ''parranderos'')<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Moodie |first=Sylvia Maria |date=1983 |title=Survival of Hispanic Religious Songs in Trinidad Folklore |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40653587 |journal=Caribbean Quarterly |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=1–31 |issn=0008-6495}}</ref> travel from house to house in the community,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pearse |first=Andrew |date=1955 |title=Aspects of Change in Caribbean Folk Music |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/834533 |journal=Journal of the International Folk Music Council |volume=7 |pages=29–36 |doi=10.2307/834533 |issn=0950-7922|url-access=subscription }}</ref> often joined by friends, neighbours, and family, using whatever instruments are at hand. Popular parang instruments include the [[Cuatro (Venezuela)|Venezuelan cuatro]] (a small, four-string guitar)<ref name=":0" /> and [[maraca]]s (locally known as ''chac-chacs'').<ref name=":0" /> Other instruments often used are [[violin]], [[guitar]], [[claves]] (locally known as ''toc-toc''), [[box bass]] (an indigenous instrument), [[tambourine]], [[mandolin]], [[bandol (instrument)|bandol]], [[caja vallenata|caja]] (a percussive box instrument), and marimbola (an Afro-Venezuelan instrument). In exchange for the entertainment, parranderos are traditionally given food and drink: pasteles, [[pastelle]], [[sorrel]], [[rum]] and ''[[Ponche crema|Ponche Crema]]'' (a form of alcoholic [[eggnog]]).

While traditional house-to-house [[caroling]] tradition is still practised by some small groups and larger organized groups, modern parang music has also developed a season of staged performances called ''parang fiestas'', held from October through to January each year, culminating in a national parang competition. Today, parang is especially vibrant in Trinidad and Tobago communities such as [[Paramin]], [[Lopinot]], and [[Arima]].

==Varieties==
Traditional parang music includes a variety of song types:

* ''[[aguinaldo (music)|aguinaldo]]'' or ''serenal'': relating to the stories of the nativity of Christ similar to European carols played in the Canary Islands and Andalusia;
* ''guarapo'': a secular song, often with passages of improvised lyrics where content and length vary according to the skill of the lead singer;
* ''[[estribillo]]'': a lively call-and-response style song;
* ''[[manzanares (music)|rio Manzanares]]'': a Venezuelan [[waltz]] which celebrates the different aspects of the [[Manzanares River (South America)|Manzanares River]] of [[Cumaná, Venezuela]];
* ''[[joropo]]'': similar in style to the Spanish waltz;
* ''[[galerón]]'';<ref name=":1" />
* ''[[picón]]'';
* ''[[despedida (disambiguation)|despedida]]'': a song of farewell and gratitude.

Since the 1950s, parang has become more popularised. In the 1980s it evolved into "soca parang", a fusion of soca and parang with lyrics in [[English (language)|English]]. While still festive in nature, the lyrics often refer to North American cultural elements such as [[Santa Claus]].

Parang has also been fused with [[Chutney music|chutney]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ramnarine |first=Tina Karina |date=1996 |title="Indian" Music in the Diaspora: Case Studies of "Chutney" in Trinidad and in London |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3060870 |journal=British Journal of Ethnomusicology |volume=5 |pages=133–153 |issn=0968-1221}}</ref> a form of vocal music indigenous to Trinidad, influenced by Indian rhythms and sometimes sung in [[Caribbean Hindustani|Hindustani]]. This fusion forms [[chutney parang]].<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
<references />
{{Folk music}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parang}}
[[Category:Afro–Trinidadian and Tobagonian culture]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples in Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Trinidad and Tobago styles of music]]
[[Category:Venezuelan diaspora]]
[[Category:Folk music genres]]