Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2012 ¡Casinando!: Identity, Meaning, and the Kinesthetic Language of Cuban Casino Dancing Brian Martinez Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC ¡CASINANDO! IDENTITY, MEANING, AND THE KINESTHETIC LANGUAGE OF CUBAN CASINO DANCING By BRIAN MARTINEZ A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2012 Brian Martinez defended this thesis on March 26, 2012. The members of the supervisory committee were: Frank Gunderson Professor Directing Thesis Michael Bakan Committee Member Charles Brewer Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii For my father, mother, and brother, for all of your unfailing love and support iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................. ix 1. INTRODUCTION TO CASINO ..........................................................................................1 Background and Significance..................................................................................................3 Survey of Literature.................................................................................................................6 Theoretical Approach ..............................................................................................................8 Linguistic Relativity in the 21st Century? ......................................................................9 Methodology..........................................................................................................................10 Chapter Expositions...............................................................................................................12 2. ON THE HISTORIES OF TIMBA, CASINO, AND SALSA .........................................13 Overview of Cuban Music and Dance...................................................................................13 Cuban Beginnings........................................................................................................14 Cuban Music Commercialized in the U.S. ..................................................................18 Popular Dance Music in Cuba Since the 1959 Revolution..........................................24 Casino Set Apart from Salsa..................................................................................................27 Summary................................................................................................................................31 3. CASINO AND SALSA AS KINESTHETIC LANGUAGES ..........................................32 Concerning language.............................................................................................................32 Components of a Linguistic System ............................................................................36 A Word About the Notion of Dialects .........................................................................39 Functions of Language.................................................................................................40 How Language Works .................................................................................................41 Aspects of the Reality-Construction View of Language .................................42 A Critique of Sapir and Whorf?...................................................................................45 A Linguistic Analogy for Social Dance ................................................................................46 Linguistic Structures of Social Dance .........................................................................48 Phonemes.........................................................................................................48 Morphemes ......................................................................................................50 Grammar ..........................................................................................................52 Kinesthetic Dialects .....................................................................................................57 Functions of Kinesthetic Language .............................................................................61 Summary................................................................................................................................62 4. LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY AND IDENTITY THROUGH DANCE .........................63 Linguistic Relativity ..............................................................................................................63 Identity...................................................................................................................................68 Identity Constructed Through Dance ....................................................................................70 Conclusion.............................................................................................................................77 iv 5. LINGUISTIC RELATIVITY AND THE MARGINALIZATION OF TIMBA AND CASINO........................................................................................................................................78 Changing Languages and Dominance Through Translation.................................................78 Language and Hegemony......................................................................................................80 Dominance of “Salsa”..................................................................................................82 Summary................................................................................................................................87 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................88 An Opened Door....................................................................................................................90 APPENDIX A: EXAMPLES OF PHONOLOGY, MORPHOLOGY AND GRAMMAR IN KINESTHETIC LANGUAGES .................................................................................................92 APPENDIX B: DIAGRAMS OF DANCE POSITIONS AND FIGURES............................102 APPENDIX C: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD FORMS..........................................114 APPENDIX D: ORAL SOURCES ...........................................................................................121 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................122 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH....................................................................................................128 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Phonemes of Casino, Miami-Style Salsa/Casino, and Salsa Dancing ....................92 Table 2: Morphemes in Casino..............................................................................................94 Table 3: Morphemes in Miami-Style Salsa/Casino...............................................................97 Table 4: Morphemes in Salsa ................................................................................................98 Table 5: Grammatical Concepts in Casino, Miami-Style Salsa/Casino, and Salsa.............100 vi LIST OF FIGURES Key to Symbols ...................................................................................................................102 Figure 1: Posición de caída.................................................................................................103 Figure 2: Casino open position............................................................................................103 Figure 3: Miami-style salsa/casino open position ...............................................................104 Figure 4: L.A.-style salsa open position..............................................................................104 Figure 5: Closed position.....................................................................................................104 Figure 6: Casino guapea, counts 1-4...................................................................................105 Figure 7: Casino guapea, counts 5-8...................................................................................105 Figure 8: Miami-style salsa/casino guapea, counts 1-8 ......................................................106 Figure 9: L.A.-style salsa basic step, counts 1-8 .................................................................106 Figure 10: Casino dile que no, counts 1-4...........................................................................107 Figure 11: Casino dile que no, counts 5-8...........................................................................107 Figure 12: Miami-style salsa/casino dile que no, counts 1-4 ..............................................108 Figure 13: Miami-style salsa/casino