Musical    traditions  :   Puerto  R ico    vs .    Dominican  Republic

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     When I think about Spanish music you tend to just think about music which is sang in a different language, but Spanish music is so much more. Currently in the world there are more Spanish speaking countries than any other language known to man. This means several things, one being the different musical traditions associated with these counties. In Spanish music there is a ton of different genres associate with the music for example merengue, salsa, bachata, bomba, plena, baladas and reggaetón to name a few. Although all of them are becoming more main stream some of these genres of Spanish music are becoming so popular that they transcend the coasts of the islands where they were created.

     If you are familiar with Spanish culture you know how important music and dance is to their people. It is something that has unified many Spanish speaking cultures around the world. Being somewhat of a general language for most of these melting pot countries that were conquered in earlier centuries by Spain and the British and inhabited by African slaves because of it. So naturally there is rhythms and sounds from a mixture of cultures.


Merengue is a type of music and dance originated in the Dominican Republic, which became a very popular genre throughout Latin America (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merengue_music). A dictator by the the name of Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961) made it the countries national music and dance style. Merengue has not always been considered the national dance of the Dominican Republic. Since merengue music has strong African roots, rather than European roots, the music and dance were initially rejected by the upper class and those with European roots. While its popularity in the west is fairly recent merengue has been the music of choice since the 1800s in the Dominican Republic. The average merengue band consists of a bass guitar, guida, tambura (drum), piano, sax and trumpet. It usually has a fast and upbeat tempo, a very fun form of music and dance.


In Puerto Rico in the early nineteen hundred the traditional music of the island was first Bomba and then Plena. Although both are different in rhythm, lyrics and instrumentation they are usually mentioned in the same breath “Bomba y Plena”. Bomba is one of the traditional styles of music in Puerto Rico. It is the mixture of the three different cultures of the island, the African, Spanish and Taino cultures. The bass rhythm is played by two or more drums.

Plena was influenced by the Bomba style of music. Plena was often called the “periodico cantando” (sung newspaper) for the lower class because it spread messages among people(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomba_(Puerto_Rico). Due to its lower class origins, it was regarded by the upper class as “a menace to public order and private property” and was for many years associated with people of “la vida alegre or the happy life, referring to prostitutes, dancers and moral degenerates (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomba_(Puerto_Rico). The instruments typically used in a plena band are tambourines, guitar, accordion and a cuatro (form of guitar).


Bachata is a guitar-based Dominican music born among the nation’s uneducated and urban poor (Deborah Pacini Hernandez. Bachata: A Social History of a Dominican Popular Music., 267 pages.). Batcha music can be compared to country music, it usually is rich in content and the songs usually tell a story of heart break and or loneliness and misery. It makes sense if you think of the music’s origins. The earliest bachata originated in the countryside in Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century. Jose Manuel Calderon recorded the first bachata song, “Borracho de amor” in translation: Drunk from love, in 1962. What’s surprising about this music’s popularity around the world is that, as recently as 1988 bachata was considered too vulgar and wasn’t played on television and or radio in the Dominican Republics capital of Santo Domingo(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachata_(music). The typical bachata group consists of electric, rhythm and bass guitar, bongo  drums and a guida.

Similarities in Music

Dominican & Puerto Rican Traditions

     If you look back at the origins of both bachata from the Dominican Republic, and Bomba from Puerto Rico you see that both forms of Spanish music came from the lower-class population of the country as a form of expression based on heartache and pain. They’re also similar in the fact that they both were kind of viewed as lower forms of music domestically. In both cases its known that the upper-class citizens frowned upon those in the genres and didn’t give any of them notoriety at first.

    There are also some similarities in Merengue from Dominican Republic and Plena in Puerto Rico in that they both were more socially accepted in their respective countries. Also, the melodies of merengue and plena are upbeat and have fast arraignments. They also both use many similar instruments such as drums, guitars and some brass instruments such as the guiro and horns in some cases. They are both very pleasant to listen to and they make you want to literally get up and dance. What’s very evident in Spanish culture as in American culture is that Latin America takes their music very seriously and use it as an expression of self as we do here in the United States.

Differences in Music

Dominican & Puerto Rican Traditions

    

     There are also many differences in these forms of music as well. The one that stands out the most of all is how in bachata music it seems that the musician is always singing of hardship and anguish, while in bomb and plena the music is supposed to be uplifting. Its also different in the sense that its usually is a very slow form of music. Although, I have heard some faster pace songs I have to say that most bachata is slow in tempo, but it is one of my favorite genres in Spanish music.

     Another difference I found in the musical traditions is that when you look at merengue music it seems a bit more developed then the others. There usually is a numerous number of instruments from percussion, brass, strings, keyboards etc. It seems to me that Bomba, plena and even bachata sounds more indigenous to the people of the land, then merengue. Merengue sounds more like a hybrid of the other three traditional music forms of the islands.