The Capital of Carnival: Alibabá Carnival Music and Dance in Santo Domingo As Social Enterprise and Performance Complex
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THE CAPITAL OF CARNIVAL: ALIBABÁ CARNIVAL MUSIC AND DANCE IN SANTO DOMINGO AS SOCIAL ENTERPRISE AND PERFORMANCE COMPLEX BY JESSICA C. HAJEK DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Musicology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2017 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Gabriel Solis, Chair and Director of Research Associate Professor Donna Buchanan Associate Professor Dara Goldman Assistant Professor Michael Silvers ABSTRACT Every February and August, carnival groups known as “Alibabá” parade in the streets of Santo Domingo, giving a spectacular performance with equal elements of sonic and visual display. Unlike other carnival groups in the capital, Alibabá groups perform unison dance routines while dressed in stylized Middle-Eastern inspired costumes that are accompanied by a unique marching rhythm on percussion and brass instruments. This rapid-fire rhythm is referred to as “el ritmo llamativo” (the attention-getting rhythm) because of the incessant wall of sound that draws people toward it. The popularity of Alibabá among its fans is not surprising, as Alibabá musicians have been deeply influenced by the varieties of musical and environmental sound that have permeated Santo Domingo over the past four decades. Alibabá has remained so vital to the neighborhood groups who continue to perform year in and year out that daily rehearsals now take place from August until February in advance of the parades and competitions. Moreover, its music has found its way into other realms outside of carnival activities—including at baseball games, political events, and birthday parties. Nonetheless, Alibabá has not gained significant attention outside of its immediate neighborhood surroundings and many in Santo Domingo are still relative strangers to the practice. This is true in spite of a desire on the part of Alibabá leaders to be accepted as executors of Dominican culture and a concerted effort by the Ministry of Culture in presenting Alibabá as a central genre of carnival music. My dissertation is a social history of the performance of Alibabá music and dance during carnival in Santo Domingo’s working-class neighborhoods. At a theoretical level, my dissertation considers the social, political, and economic choices of everyday Dominicans living ii in inner-city neighborhoods, in relation to intersecting local and regional policy and economic structures, and a larger world. I show that Alibabá is essential to these communities because it represents one of the few opportunities for some of the city’s residents to learn to play music and to dance, and because it is capable of meaningful change in the lives of its performers and fans. This is because the social cohesion and sense of belonging generated by participating in Alibabá is an important way that these residents overcome economic shortages and youth delinquency and cope with the daily risk of accidents, health crises, and death. In doing so, I demonstrate that performance practices like Alibabá can remain vital to the neighborhood groups who continue to perform year in and year out even without the intervention of commercial artists, government policy makers, or folklorists at the national level. At a theoretical level, my dissertation analyzes the production of perceptions of music and sound that determine the politics of everyday musical life. I ask, how do negative perceptions of life in inner-city neighborhoods in the local context of Santo Domingo impact the social life of its residents within the city’s public realm in the twenty-first century? At a national level, how do social, political, and economic processes dictate what has historically been heard in Santo Domingo? What role could CD recordings, social media, and Alibabá groups in New York City play in reshaping these perceptions in the capital? The answers to these questions may reveal that Alibabá’s story is the key to understanding how Dominicans within the urban environment find a voice within an ever increasing national and global dialogue. As an application of my research, I recommend various strategies so that cultural organizations and government entities in Santo Domingo could adapt their cultural policies and inclusion strategies to better address the needs and goals of performers, organizers, and the audience. I demonstrate that encouraging cultural practices like Alibabá is one way to challenge iii common negative perceptions of inner-city social identity by offering alternatives to both the realities of and anxieties about the urban environment. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my family for their unwavering love and encouragement. I owe everything to my parents, Cathy and Walter, who supported me in every way possible during this process. You inspired me to follow me dreams, but also grounded me in reality. You are my rock. None of this would have been possible without you. To my brother, Jeremy, and sister-in-law, Susanna, your faith gave me the strength to keep going. Thank you also to my little niece and nephews who made sure I never took myself too seriously. I am also indebted to my aunts, uncles, and cousins who are waiting for me at the finish line, cheering me on. I would like to give special thanks to my adviser, Dr. Gabriel Solis, whose keen eye to scholarship both raised the bar for my work and also provided an inspirational model to follow. Because of our work together, I am much closer now to the kind of scholar I have always wanted to be. An additional thanks is in order for the members of my committee, Dr. Donna Buchanan, Dr. Dara Goldman, and Dr. Michael Silvers, for their insightful comments and thought- provoking questions in the final execution of my dissertation. I would like to thank to Dr. Thomas Turino, Dr. Martha E. Davis, and Dr. Bruno Nettl, who also guided me personally and professionally over the years. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my friends and colleagues in the Departments of Music and Spanish/Portuguese. First, to Hilary, one of my best friends, thank you for challenging me to find a middle way. To Rick, Priscilla, and Reneé, you are my village; I could not imagine having survived grad school without you guys. To Sara, Sarah, Susanna, Kelsey, Katie, and Kara, thank you so much for your patience in sharing an office with me over the last few years and listening v to me babble on and on about Alibabá. I also owe a great deal to my former and current roommates Pocho and Wilfredo, who were a great stabilizing force in my life here in Champaign-Urbana. I also owe my sanity to my trivia mates, Misha, Lexi, and Evan, who gave me a good reason to take Tuesday nights off from work. I am also incredibly grateful to the Writers Workshop at the University of Illinois and their fabulous staff of writing tutors who helped me polish my writing skills over the last few years. I especially would like to thank María Carvajal, whose mastery of both the English and Spanish languages was so crucial to helping me express my best ideas in written form. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my colleague Severina Adames, who patiently reviewed my translations. I would also like to thank my writing buddies Gehui and Ursula who were always willing to offer their company and great motivation to keep working! vi AGRADECIMIENTOS Primero, le agradezco a la familia Morales y Cartagena en Santo Domingo. A mis segundos padres, don Bruno y doña Helvia quienes me tratan como su propia hija. Sin Uds., no hubiera tenido éxito con este proyecto. También, le doy muchísimas gracias a mi hermana Ashly, quien me acompañó aquí en Champaign igual que en Santo Domingo. Gracias, familia, por abrirme la casa y el corazón. Segundo, le agradezco al personal de la Dirección Nacional de Carnaval, especialmente a Ramón Lachapelle, a Ramón Rivas y a Yua Rodríguez. Gracias por su pasión por carnaval y sus grandes apoyos con los años. También estoy en deuda con Luisa María Ortiz, directora provincial de La Romana del Ministerio de Cultura. Si no fuera por nuestro primer encuentro en 2002, me imagino que nunca hubiera descubierto a los Alibabá. Gracias por tu dedicación infatigable a las artes a lo largo de los años. También, gracias a mi muy buena amiga Sonia quien me ayudó mucho, tanto en La Romana como en Santo Domingo. Por último, si bien no menos importante, les doy muchas gracias a los carnavaleros y los comparseros en el Gran Santo Domingo. Como se dice, sin carnavaleros, no hay carnaval y también sin Uds., no hay este proyecto. Soy solo servidora a sus deseos y metas, y les ofrezco esta humilde tesis como mi interpretación de sus labores grandes. Gracias a Momón, Madelin y sus hijos por darme la bienvenida en su casa. Mil gracias a Joselito Gil por acompañarme a todas partes de la ciudad e introducirme a un sinnúmero de líderes de grupos carnavalescos. Sus esfuerzos son la sangre y el alma de las prácticas populares de carnaval en esta magna ciudad— la primera en el nuevo mundo. Gracias a la familia Cabral y Roque, quienes fueron instrumental en mi aclamación a Los Mina y siempre me recibieron con mucha afección y un cafecito. vii También, les agradezco mucho a mis maestros de redoblante, César Carvajal, Bryan, Nano y Fabrizio, y mis maestras de baile, Leidy y Nataly. Gracias por su paciencia y atención. ¡Dale mambo, muchachos! viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................... xvii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Understanding Santo Domingo Carnival as a Field Site ..................................................................... 4 1.2 Theorizing the Capital of Carnival: An Ethnomusicological Intervention ......................................