Aguinaldo is a genre of Puerto Rican and Venezuelan traditional and cultural music, popular in several Latin American countries, based on Spanish Christmas carols or villancicos which is traditionally sung on Christmas itself or during the holiday season. Aguinaldo music is often performed by parrandas - a casual group of people, often family or friends, who merrily go from house to house taking along their singing. The instruments used are the cuatro, maracas and drums. Some popular aguinaldos are Burrito Sabanero (Venezuela), El Asalto (Puerto Rico), Feliz Navidad (Puerto Rico), and De la Montaña Venimos (Puerto Rico).
Venezuelan aguinaldo
In Venezuela, aguinaldo is a genre of Christmas music and generally have six verses. It is played by "parranderos" or "aguinalderos" that announce their arrival in song and seek to gain entry to the community houses to relate the story of the birth of Christ, and to share in the joy of the message of Peace on Earth and to all People of Good Will. Aguinaldos are played with typical instruments such as the cuatro (a small, four-string guitar), furruco, and maracas. Other instruments often used are violin, guitar, tambourine, mandolin, bandol, caja (a percussive box instrument), and marímbula (an Afro-Venezuelan instrument). In exchange for the entertainment, "parranderos" are traditionally given food and drink: hallacas, panettone, rum and "Ponche Crema" (a form of alcoholic eggnog). Aguinaldos are also played at Christmas church celebrations. The composer Vicente Emilio Sojo compiled and harmonized more than 100 anonimous agunaldos and other folk songs, achieving a significant preservation of the country's musical traditions.
Puerto Rican aguinaldo
150px|thumb|Puerto Rican Güiro
In Puerto Rico, the aguinaldo is a musical gift offered during the Christmas season and is a tradition inherited from the island's Spanish colonizers. As a musical gift, aguinaldos are mostly played by "parranderos" or "trullas" during the Christmas holidays. While , showing up at a residence late at night, with a group of Christmas carolers, is a practice that is slowly being lost in Puerto Rico, a Puerto Rican album debuted in the top 10 Billboard Tropical Albums in December 2019.
Originally, aguinaldos were "villancicos" with strong religious connotations, but soon evolved to "coplas" (quartets) and "decimas" (ten-verses compositions) about all kinds of everyday topics. Aguinaldos were played with typical instruments such as the bordonúa, a tiple, a cuatro, a carracho or güiro, a cowbell, barriles de bomba, an accordion, and maracas. With bordonua players becoming more difficult to find, the guitar became a staple accompanying the cuatro. Today, panderos (also known as "pleneras"), brass instruments and whatever makes noise, are used. Aguinaldos are also played at Christmas church celebrations.