Ecuador’s musical landscape ranges from Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian traditions to pasillo and contemporary popular song. These examples place the country’s signature pasillo tradition alongside performances by Ecuadorian singer-songwriter Juan Fernando Velasco.
The music of Ecuador has a long history. Pasillo is a genre of indigenous Latin music. It is extremely popular in Ecuador, where it is the "national genre of music." Pasillo as a genre is also present in the highland regions of Colombia, and Panama and Venezuela, to a lesser extent.
Today, it has incorporated more European features of classical dance, such as a waltz. As it spread during the Gran Chaco period, pasillo also absorbed the individual characteristics of isolated villages. This gives it an eclectic feel; however, the style, tone, and tempo of the music differ in each village.
Overview adapted from Wikipedia’s “Music of Ecuador” article
Juan Fernando Velasco represents Ecuadorian popular song in a contemporary Latin pop setting.
“El Alma en los Labios” highlights pasillo, one of Ecuador’s best-known national musical traditions.
A second Juan Fernando Velasco performance shows the continuing place of romantic song in Ecuadorian popular music.