Cueca

Also known as handkerchief courtship dance

The cueca is a couple dance of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina: two dancers circle one another, waving handkerchiefs in a playful courtship, to guitar, hand claps and drum that sway between 6/8 and 3/4.

Play the preview About this tradition

Cueca: photograph by Rodrigo Fernández — Photo: Rodrigo Fernández, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons

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How to play

Five lanes stand for the left step, the right step, the stamp, the floor brush and the hand claps.
Beats arrive at the line; strike the matching lane as each one lands.
Count in groups of six pulses: the walk leans in two groups of three, and the other song turns them into three groups of two.
Play the walking song first, then the six-against-three song and the brushing song.

Rules at a glance

Each bar has six pulses; in 6/8 the accents fall on pulse one and four, in 3/4 on one, three and five.
Songs repeat twice; a stroke on the pulse is perfect, a near one is good, and extra strokes cost points.
The tempo is taught slower than the dance is usually performed.

About the tradition

The cueca is danced at family gatherings, festivals and national celebrations in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, each region with its own steps and tempo. Chile named it a national dance in 1979, and Bolivia recognised its cueca as national heritage in 2015.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of The Americas: Andes and South America.

Credits

Tradition: cueca of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina; step patterns written for this game
Photo: Rodrigo Fernández, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons
Text: CC BY-SA 4.0, World Heritage Games.

Sources

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cueca_en_la_calle_Santiago_2015_dic_f0

Get the app

Cueca is one of 10 instruments and dances in the Music & Dance of the World app for iPhone, iPad and Android. Submitted to the App Store and Google Play; in review. Store links appear here the day it goes live. One app, many traditions, no account needed.

See all 10 instruments and dances in the app

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