Music of the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is known primarily for Merengue, though Bachata and other forms are also popular. Dominican music has always been closely intertwined with that of its neighbor, Haiti (see Music of Haiti).

Bachata

Main article: Bachata

Bachata is a style of music that inhabitants of shantytowns call their own to own. Though this may seem like almost a negative connotation, one should remember that bachata has been widely accepted through many, though not all, classes of Dominican society. Bachata evolved from bolero, a pan-American style said to have originated in Cuba. The guitars (lead, rhythm, and bass) are the principal instruments in bachata. They are accompanied by the bongo and guira (which has replaced the maracas favored by earlier bachateros).

The Dominican bourgeoisie at first dismissed bachata as worthless and it was therefore given the name bachata, meaning a rowdy lower-class fiesta (party). Until fairly recently, bachata was informally banned from Dominican radio and television. Despite this, bachata flourished and has now gained wide acceptance, not only in the Dominican republic, but world-wide.

Before the term bachata was universally accepted, the music was also referred to as "música de la guardia" - music of low ranking soldiers, and "música de amargue" - music of bitterness.

Dominican rock

Main article: Dominican rock

Dominican rock is a popular genre among younger crowds of the Dominican Republic. Dominican rock is influenced by British and American rock, but also has its own sense of unique style. The rock scene in the Dominican Republic has been very vibrant in recent years, spanning many genres of rock such as pop rock, punk, metal and emo. Dominican rock had started its scene in the early 80s, when Luis Dias (who is considered to be the father of Dominican rock), came onto the scene and created this genre. Since then, there have been over 60 Dominican rock bands, the most successful being Toque Profundo, Tabu Tek, Al-Jadaqui Tribu del Sol, Top 40, TKR, Poket, La Siembra, La Reforma and Gonzalez. Many young teenagers of the Dominican Republic also embrace rock more than bachata, merengue, and reggaeton.

Merengue

Main article: Merengue music

Merengue is a musical genre native to the Dominican Republic. The word “merengue” literally means whipped egg whites and sugar, although it is uncertain how this word came to be associated with this type of music and dance. Swift beats from güira or maracas percussion sections, and wild accordion or saxophone accompaniment are characteristic. Other instruments frequently include a sax, box bass, tambora drum or guyano. The rhythm dominates the music, and is the most characteristic feature of the genre. It is unsyncopated and includes an aggressive beat on 1 and 3. While overwhelmingly Dominican in origin, it has also been historically linked to the music of Haiti, which shares a border with the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. Traditional, acoustic merengue is best-represented by the earliest recorded musicians, like Angel Viloria and Francisco Ulloa. More modern merengue incorporate electric instruments and influences from salsa, rock and roll and hip hop. Choruses are usually in groups of three and are often used in a call and response pattern. Live, wild dancing has long been commonplace, and is a staple of many of the genre's biggest stars. Lyrically, irony and oblique references to issues of sexuality and politics.

The origins of merengue are disputed. It may be related to Haitian méringue (mereng), which is very similar except in its guitar-based sound, while merengue is dominated by the accordion. Another cousin could be UPA, a Cuban form that includes a section called a merengue and arrived in Santo Domingo in the mid-1800s, imported from Puerto Rico. European contradanza was another major influence. Other scholars have claimed that merengue is a distinctively Dominican form, developed after the Dominican victory at Talanquera by soldier named Tomas Torres who deserted, falsely predicting a loss, and that it is a fusion of Spanish decima with African plena music. A final seminal influence was contact with a major trading partner, Germany, through which the accordion was introduced to Dominican society. At the time of its development, merengue was attacked by newspapers and the upper-class, who preferred an older form of dance music called tumba. It was called vulgar and obscene, as have many forms of folk music.

Merengue continued to be limited in popularity to the lower-classes, especially in the Cibao area, in the early 20th century. Artists like Juan F. García, Juan Espínola and Julio Alberto Hernandez tried to move merengue into the mainstream, but failed, largely due to risque lyrics. Some success occurred after the original form (then called merengue típico cibaeño) was slowed down to accommodate American soldiers (who occupied the country from 1916-1924) and couldn't dance the difficult steps of the merengue; this mid-tempo version was called pambiche. Major mainstream acceptance started with the rise of Rafael Trujillo in the early 1930s.

Rafael Trujillo, who seized the presidency of the Dominican Republic in 1930, helped merengue to become a national symbol of the island up until his assassination in 1961. Being that he was of humble origins, he had been barred from elite social clubs. He therefore resented these elite sophisticates and began promoting the Cibao-style merengue as the populist symbol. The text of merengue songs covers an array of topics, including politics. This is evidenced by the hundreds of songs that were made, which were focused on political aspects of Trujillo's dictatorship, praising certain guidelines and actions of his party. Trujillo even made it mandatory for urban dance bands to include merengue in their routines. Also, piano and brass instruments were added in large merengue orchestras. On the other hand, merengue that continued to use an accordion became known as perico ripiao (ripped parrot). It was because of all this that merengue became and still is the Dominican Republic’s national music and dance.

In the 1960s, a new group of artists (most famously Johnny Ventura) incorporated American R&B and rock and roll influences, along with Cuban salsa music. The instrumentation changed, with accordion replaced with electric guitars or synthesizers, or occasionally sampled, and the saxophone's role totally redefined. In spite of the changes, merengue remained the most popular form of music in the Dominican Republic. Ventura, for example, was so adulated that he became a massively popular and influential politician on his return from a time in the United States, and was seen as a national symbol.

The 1980s saw increasing Dominican emigration to Europe and the United States, especially to New York City and Miami. Merengue came with them, bringing images of glitzy pop singers and idols. At the same time, Juan Luis Guerra slowed down the merengue rhythm, and added more lyrical depth and entrenched social commentary. He also incorporated bachata and Western musical influences with albums like 1990's critically-acclaimed Bachata Rosa.

Merengue Hip Hop

In the 1990s, some Dominican bands mixed merengue with house, hip hop, and rap elements, creating the merenhouse and merenrap styles. Notable bands with this style include Fulanito ("La novela", "Guallando"), and Los Ilegales ("Fiesta caliente", "Morena", "Dame Un Chin"). One of the pioneers of the Merenrap style is Proyecto Uno ("Latinos", "Mueve la cadera"). The Original members were Nelson Zapata & Ricky Echavarria, later Magic Juan ("Meniando La Pera"), Johnny Salgado and Erik Morales joined the group. Notable differences between Merengue and its hip-hop variant are the emphasis on more fast hip-hop backgrounds while incorporating rap-style rhythmic lyrics rather than musical lyrics and a distinct de-emphasis on the traditional blaring horns. However, Merenrap still retains the typical instruments utilized in Meregue which includes the bass guitar, diatonic accordion, guira, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, and sometimes piano.

Reggaeton

Main article: Reggaeton

Even though Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic was the third country in Latin America Reggaeton has been introduced to. It has had a long history of reggaeton music, more closely associated with Puerto Rican music. Dominican reggaeton is a mixture of American hip hop music with reggae, along with elements of Dominican bachata, merengue and the Bomba rhythm. Some artists in reggaeton include Luny Tunes, who are one of the biggest and most popular producers in the genre, and have produced big hit reggaeton songs such as Daddy Yankee's smash hit "Impacto", among other chart toppers. Other Dominican reggaeton artists include Noztra, Don Miguelo, Santo Nova, OG Black (who was part of Master Joe & OG Black), Ingco Crew,Michalle Pie, Mojiganga, La Fabrica, Gem Star and Big Mato, Yo Yais. Some reggaeton artists claim to have some Dominican in their blood, or by association like Nicky Jam, who was originally born in the Dominican Republic, and Tego Calderon who has claimed he's lived in the Dominican Republic, which is why he is known to have a Dominican accent.

Dominican Rap

Also know as Rap Local, Dominican Rap is a movement that has been getting bigger since the late 90s. There many artists such as Lapiz (Top Dollars),Vakero, and Toxic Crow (Complot Records).

References

• Harvey, Sean and Sue Steward. "Merengue Attacks". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 414-420. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
• Manuel, with Kenneth Bilby and Michael Largey. Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae (2nd edition). Temple University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-59213-463-7.

External links

• Dominican Music, articles, music & video clips - bachata, merengue, Afro-Dominican, and more
• www.BachataRadio.com, Bachata, Merengue y mas! Musica en Demanda y en Vivo, Listen to the Music of the Dominican Republic
• All about Merengue Típico / Perico Ripiao