DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - MUSIC
Rhythm, harmony and instrumenta on live in every street and every person in Dominican Republic (DR). The country offers great diversity in its musical culture, which is influenced by West African and European (notably Spanish) tradi ons, with some na ve Taíno influences. The most representa ve and revered genres include the merengue, the bachata and the son.
THE MERENGUE
Merengue is the Dominican na onal dance par excellence. Its origins coincide with the na on’s birth and developing iden ty and culture.
Its influences are Spanish, African and indigenous, and its words are the narra ons of daily life in the country. Merengue’s basic musical forma on is made up of the “cuatro”, a four-stringed guitar, the “guiro”, a percussion instrument and the tambourine. In 1870, the “cuatro” was replaced by the accordion, with the saxophone, the bass and the piano also appearing later.
One of the “merengue” variants from the end of the 19th century was the “Perico Ripiao” (literally “Ripped Parrot”), which originated in San ago. It was played in a bar called Perico Ripiao by a musical band that subs tuted the guitar for the accordion.
Despite the merengue’s popularity and varia ons among the popular masses, the upper classes refused to accept it because its literary texts lacked lyrical elegance. But the essence of its rhythm reached popular fes vals and the efforts of highbrow musicians ensured its later introduc on into upper classes. Wider acceptance began in 1930 with the arrival of the tyrant Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who used merengue for his electoral campaign. At this me, merengue was circulated to areas in which it was not previously known. It was at a party for the elite of the city of San ago when merengue managed to penetrate high society. The maestro Luis Alber was requested to compose a merengue for the occasion. He agreed, wri ng and performing “Compadre Pedro Juan” (Friend Pedro Juan), which caused a furor and became the anthem of the merengues.
Merengue then began to spread around the whole country and became a launch point for the populariza on of Dominican rhythms around the world. Today, it has an endless number of exponents who have spread it around the world including: Joseíto Mateo, Juan Luis Guerra, Johnny Ventura, Milly Quezada, Wilfrido Vargas, Fernando Villalona, The Rosario Brothers and Eddy Herrera.
THE BACHATA Bachata originated as a string bolero and arose from popular spontaneity. Among its creators is the musician José Manuel Calderón from the 1960s, whose greatest hits were “Salvame” (Save Me), “Luna” (Moon) and “Serpiente Humana” (Human Snake). Then the singers Rafael Encarnación and Luis Segura popularized bachata for the masses, followed later by Luis Vargas and Anthony Santos who contributed a new language. Finally, the musical group Aventura created a very par cular “bachata”, because of its fusion with other musical styles, resul ng in a very young and modern genre.
The names of Juan Luís Guerra and Víctor Víctor should also be men oned for the great wealth of lyrics and musical composi ons they created for “bachata”.
THE SON
Between 1870 and 1890 this genre appeared around the ci es of Montecris and Puerto Plata.
There exists a theory that “son” is a hybrid between Hispanic and African elements, which appears to have been derived from the bolero. Its crea on was a ributed to the Cuban musician and composer Miguel Matamoros. It is unques onable that the influence of Matamoros crossed the borders, enveloping Dominican geography between 1930 and 1950. The Cibao region boasts various “son” groups.
POPULAR MUSIC
Today, tradi onal merengue, bachata and son remain extremely popular, and they also influence many emerging popular music forms, including Dominican rock, hip-hop and Dominican reggaeton, also known as dem bow.
Media Contact Siren Communica ons Olivia Bru o 416-351-0777 olivia@sirencommunica ons.com