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Music of the Dominican Republic
The music of the Dominican Republic is primarily influenced by Western European music, with Middle Eastern, Sub-Saharan African and native Taino influences. The Dominican Republic is mainly known for its merengue and bachata music, both of which are the most famous styles of music in the Dominican Republic, and have been exported and popularized around the world.
Merengue is a musical genre native to the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate to a very fast 2/4 rhythm played on güira (metal scraper) and the double-headed tambora. The accordion is also common. Traditional, accordion-based merengue is usually termed merengue típico and is still played by living accordionists like Francisco Ulloa, Fefita la Grande, El Ciego de Nagua, and Rafaelito Román. More modern merengues incorporate electric instruments and influences from salsa, and rock and roll. Choruses are often sung in a call and response form by two or three back-up singers, or more traditionally, by the musicians playing tambora or güira. Beginning in the 1960s, dancing became a part of the singers' work with Johnny Ventura's Combo Show format, and is now a staple of many of the genre's biggest stars. Lyrically, irony and double entendres are common.
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 Hernández tried to move merengue into the mainstream, but failed, largely due to social prejudices. Some success occurred after nationalistic feelings arose among the Cibao elite who resented the U.S. occupation of the country from 1916 to 1924. Legend has it[citation needed] that at this time the faster (merengue típico cibaeño) was slowed down to accommodate American soldiers who could not dance the difficult steps of the merengue; this mid-tempo version was called pambiche. Major mainstream acceptance started with Rafael Trujillo's rise to power in the early 1930s.
Dictator 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 was therefore resentful of these elite sophisticates and began promoting the Cibao-style merengue, forcing all social classes to participate in the low-class dance. At Trujillo's command, virtually all musical groups had to compose merengues praising Trujillo's dictatorship, its guidelines and actions of his party. Trujillo even made it mandatory for urban dance bands to include merengue in their repertoire. Piano and brass instruments were also added in merengue-oriented big bands, a trend towards upward mobility popularizing by Luis Alberti's group in Santiago de los Caballeros. On the other hand, merengue that continued to use an accordion became known (rather disrespectfully) 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.
Salve is a call-and-response type of singing that uses güira, panderos, palos (see next section) and other African instruments. Salves are highly ceremonial and are used in pilgrimages and at parties dedicated to voodoo saints. Salve is a ritual inspired by religion and music with roots in both African and Hispanic cultures. Salve is related to palo that is played in a lot of the same contexts and rhythm. The name comes from the Salve Regina, a Catholic hymn, and many still sing a sacred, a cappella salve that preserves the medieval modes of old Spanish hymns. The ecstatic salve played at religious parties, however, is all about percussion – featuring large numbers of tambourines playing interlocking rhythms and a melodic drum called the balsie, whose player alters the pitch by applying pressure with his foot. Salve may be played in fewer parts of the country but it is one of the best-known sounds, largely because it is the sound of choice in Villa Mella, a poor suburb of the capital often thought of as the epicenter of Afro-Dominican traditions. The salve group of Enerolisa Nuñez, from Villa Mella, is one of the most widely listened to - thanks to her inclusion in merengue-star Kinito Méndez's salve-merengue fusion album A Palo Limpio as well as an excellent recording of her group by the Bayahonda Cultural Foundation.
Palo, also known as "atabales" and "salves", is a Dominican sacred music that can be found throughout the island. The drum and human voice are the principal instruments. Palo is played at religious ceremonies – usually coinciding with saint's days – as well as for secular parties and special occasions. Its roots are in the Congo region, but it is mixed with European influences in the melodies. Palos are related to Dominican folk Catholicism, which includes a pantheon of deities/saints (here termed "misterios") much like those found in the Afro-American syncretic religious traditions of Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Palos are usually associated with the lower class, Black and mixed populations. They can be seen in different regions of the island, but with variations.
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Music of the Dominican Republic
The music of the Dominican Republic is primarily influenced by Western European music, with Middle Eastern, Sub-Saharan African and native Taino influences. The Dominican Republic is mainly known for its merengue and bachata music, both of which are the most famous styles of music in the Dominican Republic, and have been exported and popularized around the world.
Merengue is a musical genre native to the Dominican Republic. It has a moderate to a very fast 2/4 rhythm played on güira (metal scraper) and the double-headed tambora. The accordion is also common. Traditional, accordion-based merengue is usually termed merengue típico and is still played by living accordionists like Francisco Ulloa, Fefita la Grande, El Ciego de Nagua, and Rafaelito Román. More modern merengues incorporate electric instruments and influences from salsa, and rock and roll. Choruses are often sung in a call and response form by two or three back-up singers, or more traditionally, by the musicians playing tambora or güira. Beginning in the 1960s, dancing became a part of the singers' work with Johnny Ventura's Combo Show format, and is now a staple of many of the genre's biggest stars. Lyrically, irony and double entendres are common.
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 Hernández tried to move merengue into the mainstream, but failed, largely due to social prejudices. Some success occurred after nationalistic feelings arose among the Cibao elite who resented the U.S. occupation of the country from 1916 to 1924. Legend has it[citation needed] that at this time the faster (merengue típico cibaeño) was slowed down to accommodate American soldiers who could not dance the difficult steps of the merengue; this mid-tempo version was called pambiche. Major mainstream acceptance started with Rafael Trujillo's rise to power in the early 1930s.
Dictator 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 was therefore resentful of these elite sophisticates and began promoting the Cibao-style merengue, forcing all social classes to participate in the low-class dance. At Trujillo's command, virtually all musical groups had to compose merengues praising Trujillo's dictatorship, its guidelines and actions of his party. Trujillo even made it mandatory for urban dance bands to include merengue in their repertoire. Piano and brass instruments were also added in merengue-oriented big bands, a trend towards upward mobility popularizing by Luis Alberti's group in Santiago de los Caballeros. On the other hand, merengue that continued to use an accordion became known (rather disrespectfully) 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.
Salve is a call-and-response type of singing that uses güira, panderos, palos (see next section) and other African instruments. Salves are highly ceremonial and are used in pilgrimages and at parties dedicated to voodoo saints. Salve is a ritual inspired by religion and music with roots in both African and Hispanic cultures. Salve is related to palo that is played in a lot of the same contexts and rhythm. The name comes from the Salve Regina, a Catholic hymn, and many still sing a sacred, a cappella salve that preserves the medieval modes of old Spanish hymns. The ecstatic salve played at religious parties, however, is all about percussion – featuring large numbers of tambourines playing interlocking rhythms and a melodic drum called the balsie, whose player alters the pitch by applying pressure with his foot. Salve may be played in fewer parts of the country but it is one of the best-known sounds, largely because it is the sound of choice in Villa Mella, a poor suburb of the capital often thought of as the epicenter of Afro-Dominican traditions. The salve group of Enerolisa Nuñez, from Villa Mella, is one of the most widely listened to - thanks to her inclusion in merengue-star Kinito Méndez's salve-merengue fusion album A Palo Limpio as well as an excellent recording of her group by the Bayahonda Cultural Foundation.
Palo, also known as "atabales" and "salves", is a Dominican sacred music that can be found throughout the island. The drum and human voice are the principal instruments. Palo is played at religious ceremonies – usually coinciding with saint's days – as well as for secular parties and special occasions. Its roots are in the Congo region, but it is mixed with European influences in the melodies. Palos are related to Dominican folk Catholicism, which includes a pantheon of deities/saints (here termed "misterios") much like those found in the Afro-American syncretic religious traditions of Cuba, Brazil, Haiti, Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Palos are usually associated with the lower class, Black and mixed populations. They can be seen in different regions of the island, but with variations.