Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History - Introduction
Explore Puerto Rico’s history, from the 16th to the 20th centuries, through the eyes of collector Teodoro Vidal. Vidal captured the island’s history by collecting thousands of objects. Over 80 artifacts are featured here.
"Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History - Introduction" showing 14 items.
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Marímbula
- Description
- The marímbula, (also marímbola), is an African-derived folk instrument found across the Caribbean. Large enough for its player to sit on, this instrument consists of a large, resonating box with metal strips that are plucked to provide a simple bass accompaniment. Its affordability, ease of construction, and portability (it can be strapped to its player like a marching drum), made it adaptable to many styles of folk music, from the roving aguinaldo of the Christmas season to a street-corner plena.
- Location
- Currently on loan
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.0512
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.0512
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Güiro
- Description
- A traditional instrument of the Taínos, the unusual güiro is made from the seed pod of the native flamboyán, also know as the flame tree. It is played by scraping the carved ridges with the tines of a special pick or scraper.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1074
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1074
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Güiro
- Description
- A traditional güiro is made from gourd-like fruit of the higüero tree (Crescentia cujete) that is native to the region. This musical instrument, common throughout the Caribbean, takes on various forms and can be made from modern materials like metal or plastic. A musical instrument of Pre-Columbian origin, it is played by scraping the carved ridges with the tines of a special pick or scraper.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1077
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1077
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Tiple
- Description
- The tiple, Puerto Rico's smallest string instrument, shows great regional variations in how it is strung and tuned. It and its jumbo version, the bordonúa, were often played to accompany religious songs. While the melodic cuatro has been embraced as a popular symbol of puertorriqueñidad (Puerto Ricanness), the tiple nearly disappeared in the 20th century.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- late 19th-early 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1078
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1078
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Cuatro
- Description
- The modern cuatro is a five double-string guitar-like instrument used to play música jíbara, Puerto Rican country music. In this unusual example, the dried, woody fruit of the higüero tree, a material more commonly used in the fabrication of maracas or güiros, comprises the main body of the instrument. The archaic cuatro had only four strings (sometimes doubled), like the example here. In the early 20th century, Puerto Rican musicians on the northern part of the island revamped the cuatro and added up to six more metal strings to allow for heightened virtuosity.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1082
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1082
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Pandereta
- Description
- This large, hand-held drum, known in Puerto Rico as a pandereta, is an essential instrument in the musical genre known as plena. The plena was developed by agricultural workers at the end of the 19th century on the southern coast of the island, around the city of Ponce. Considered a national musical genre throughout the 20th century, the plena may have originally reflected musical traditions brought to Puerto Rico by immigrants from other Caribbean islands. This example is from the city of Mayagüez.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1083
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1083
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Maracas
- Description
- This pair of maracas is made from the dried, gourd-like fruit of the calabash or higüero tree. Their construction and the painted words "Puerto Rico" indicate that they were produced as souvenirs or emblems of national identity rather than as functional musical instruments.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1084
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1084
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Puyero de Güiro
- Description
- Known as a puyero or raspador, the pick or scraper used to play the güiro makes rhythmic patterns with combinations of downstrokes and upstrokes.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1093
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1093
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Güiro Pick
- Description
- This güiro pick is in the shape of a cuatro, the national string instrument of Puerto Rico. Both the güiro and cuatro feature prominently in the instrumentation of traditional Puerto Rican genres like the seis and plena.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1094
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1094
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Puyero de Güiro
- Description
- In Puerto Rico, the güiro provides an essential rhythmic element in genres as distinct as the street-oriented plena, and the salon-oriented danza. This unusual güiro pick is in the shape of a human head.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 20th century
- ID Number
- 1997.0097.1097
- accession number
- 1997.0097
- catalog number
- 1997.0097.1097
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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