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Like its Central American neighbors, Guatemala's national instrument is the marimba, a sort of xylophone. There are also many wind orchestras. The Garifuna people, who are spread throughout the region, have their own distinct varieties of popular and folk music.
Native traditional music stems from the culture of the Maya people, and has been modified by the influx of Spanish and West African immigrants beginning in the 16th century. The marimba is the most important instrument, and is used to play a variety of kinds of music, including both local folk and internationally well-known and sophisticated popular music.
The marimba's first ironclad evidence of existence comes from 1806, when Juan Domingo Juarros, a Spanish historian, described it in the Compendium of the History of Guatemala. The instrument is, however, likely much older. An ancient Mayan manuscript depicts a marimba musician, and the instrument has varied greatly over the years. The arc marimba was likely the first, followed by a simple instrument with a keyboard, gourd resonators and a stand. In the 19th century, cases of wood replaced the keyboard and modern marimba orchestras began to settle on a form that includes percussion, saxophones, trumpets and banjos. Paco Pérez's "Luna de Xelaju", a 1942 waltz, is perhaps the best-known composition for a marimba.
Modern Guatemala includes a wide variety of performers, including a symphony orchestra, ballets, chamber ensembles, hip hop crews, and rock and mariachi bands.
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