THE DYNAMICS OF SALSIOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY GERMANY: RECONSTRUCTING GERMAN CULTURAL IDENTITY THROUGH SALSA MUSIC AND DANCE Eddy Magaliel Enríquez Arana A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2007 Committee: Dr. Christina Guenther, Advisor Dr. Francisco Cabanillas, Advisor Dr. Valeria Grinberg Pla Dr. Geoffrey Howes © 2006 Eddy M. Enríquez Arana All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Dr. Christina Guenther, Advisor Dr. Francisco Cabanillas, Advisor This thesis explores the significance of the consumption of salsa music and dance in the Federal Republic of Germany and its impact on the construction and reconstruction of German and Latin American cultural identity. The discipline of cultural studies has much to learn from the Latin American presence in and their contributions to the establishment of the salsa institution in the Federal Republic. The thesis discusses the level of German involvement in the creation of a transnational music and dance culture traditionally associated with the Spanish-speaking world exclusively. iv To all my friends, peers and family who support me in my love for the German language and salsa music. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Ernesto Delgado of the Romance Languages Department for guiding and encouraging me in the conceptualization of the topic of this writing project; to Dr. Christina Guenther of the German section whose untiring and superb academic counseling oriented not only my scholarly development but also my skills as a writer, and instilled in me confidence and drive to excel in the study of cultures and languages; to Dr. Francisco Cabanillas, my enthusiastic ally throughout all stages of this endeavor; to Dr. Valeria Grinberg Pla and Dr. Geoffrey Howes of the Spanish and German section, respectively, for providing insightful suggestions for improvement of my arguments; to both departments’ invaluable resource Catherine Cardwell for teaching me the inner workings of Jerome Library’s research tools; to Dr. Nathan Richardson for providing me with the theoretical framework to visualize cultures through more critical, organized, and succinct ideas; to my friend, colleague, and peer Joselyn Ramey whose never-ending support and shared love for everything salsa motivated me to begin writing and complete this thesis; to to all those friends, loved ones and fellow salseros/as who provided honest and constructive feedback and encouragement for ideas; and finally to my family for inculcating in me the appreciation of my own cultural heritage and that of those around me. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER I. WHAT IS SALSA?........................................................................................ 5 Introducing Salsa....................................................................................................... 5 The Origins of “Salsa” Music: A Multinational and Multiethnic Enterprise ............ 7 Afro-Hispanic Popular Music in the 20th Century: A Brief Overview...................... 13 Puerto Rico’s Afro-Hispanic Music Spectrum: A Brief Overview ........................... 19 New York City: The Translocal Birthplace of Salsa ................................................. 26 The Salsa Diaspora: The Japanization and Germanization of Salsa.......................... 34 CHAPTER II. GERMAN SALSAFIEBER............................................................................ 41 Salsa’s Translocal Travels: From Japan to Germany ................................................ 41 How and When Salsa Music Reached Germany ...................................................... 44 Where and When Salsa is Danced in Contemporary Germany ................................. 48 Case Study: Germany’s Salsa Industry ..................................................................... 52 Berlin’s Salsa Scene................................................................................................... 54 Types of Salseros in Germany................................................................................... 58 The Dynamics of Salsafieber: Germany’s Salsiology............................................... 63 Exploring Salsa Indentities: German Salsa Marketing and Advertisement .............. 68 CHAPTER III. RETHINKING GERMAN CULTURAL IDENTITY ................................ 76 Germany’s Immigrant Society: Integration and Acculturation ................................. 78 CONCLUSIONS: Perspectives on the Future of Germany’s Salsa Scene............................ 89 vi BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 96 vii LIST OF FIGURES/TABLES Figure/Table Page 1 A Musical Representation of clave............................................................................ 16 2 An Image of clave as a Percussion Instrument .......................................................... 17 3 The Salsa Visa Card................................................................................................... 55 4 Salsa Gala 2007.......................................................................................................... 56 5 Salsa Palladium Mainz............................................................................................... 69 6 Put a Little Salsa in Your Life ................................................................................... 70 7 Oster Special mit Yamulee aus New York ................................................................ 70 8 Conexión & Latin Factory ......................................................................................... 72 9 Caribe Sals[ó]dromo .................................................................................................. 73 Enríquez Arana 1 INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTUALIZING SALSA IN GERMANY My thesis begins with a description of contemporary salsa as an independent and internationally-recognized musical genre and dance, and consequently, I attempt to furnish a definition that incorporates its origins and the traditional social contexts that can be attributed to its developments. Using salsa as the foundation for the topic of this study, I further describe its numerous musical and social transformations. Overall, I provide the reader with what the salsa experience entails for the study of culture. My second chapter deals with an exposé of salsa dancing in Germany. Since its “introduction” into Germany approximately twenty years ago, salsa music and dance have become nothing short of a sensation among Germans of several generations. This so-called Salsafieber (salsa fever) is remarkable given this genre’s traditional association with two Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean: Cuba and Puerto Rico. Salsa can be heard and danced in any major city in the Federal Republic. This leads one to speculate: Have Latin American immigrants become the initial ambassadors of this sensation, and, beyond that, do they now draw on salsa as their ticket to cultural acceptance in Germany? Why are they in Germany? What is the nature of their involvement in German society within the salsa scene? This will be fundamental in Chapter Three when I theorize about the significance of this phenomenon for the multicultural dimension of German cities. I will demonstrate that salsa dancing has indeed earned a privileged position in multicultural events spanning salsa clubs, discotheques, dance workshops, festivals, and concerts in the Federal Republic. I will further develop Chapter Two by addressing the following questions: Is the scope of salsa music’s attractiveness such that is has developed into a marketing tool used Enríquez Arana 2 by the German salsa industry? In other words, the “who”, “what”, “where”, “when” and “why” of German salsa dancing will be explored. A connection will be made in relation to Germany’s already existing dance traditions, a link between salsa’s institutions and the support of German Tanzvereine (dance associations and clubs). I will conclude Chapter Two by providing a case study on German salsa dancing as it manifests itself through Vereine, workshops, competitions and its participants in Berlin. This example will make clear to the reader the level of German involvement in salsa, and, more importantly, it will be the basis for the cultural and social relevance of this project to the identity debate facing multicultural Germany today. My third chapter will have a theoretical emphasis. I will argue that Germans’ embracing of salsa music and dance does in fact relate to the reconstruction and redefining of their cultural identity. This phenomenon will necessitate an accompanying fundamental question, namely, what are the cultural and societal implications of salsa music’s popularity in light of contemporary Germany’s integration efforts? This issue will guide my critical thinking and the theoretical component of the research and writing process as a whole. Essentially, postcolonial and deconstruction theory will direct my cultural analysis of salsa dancing in Germany. Intellectuals such as Edward Said, Samuel P. Huntington, Stuart Hall, Néstor García, Iain Chambers, Edmond Jabès, Antonio Gramsci, in addition to John Shepherd’s perspectives on ethnomusicology of “music as social text” will build my theoretical framework. I join these theories