Salsa Music and Dance | Merengue | Bachata | Reggaeton | Rumba | Son | Conga | Cha Cha Cha |
|
| --Salsa Music and Dance | |
|
Salsa today is recognized
universally as the music and dance of Latin America and the Spanish-speaking
Caribbean. .JPG) Wherever latinos live across the world - be it in Colombia, New York, London
or Japan – their music and dance is the passionate pulse at the heart of their
culture and daily lives. However, in 2005, salsa has become more than just a
Latino affair. It is now truly a global phenomenon, a world-music genre that
covers five continents. The main driving forces behind the salsa’s breakout from
Spanish-speaking constituency have been the arrival of ‘world music’ in the 1980s
and the huge interest and growth in salsa dancing over the last two decades.
The genre had already started to find a non-Spanish speaking and international
audience in the 1970s, when the word’ salsa first became used as a music industry
marketing term for all latin music-but more of that latter. The rise of salsa
dancing has been the powerful engine which drove salsa to find its global audience.
Nowadays, you can walk into a salsa club in Tokyo, Jerusalem, Cape Town or London
and find amazing local dancers, many of whom don’t even speak Spanish.Truly a
remarkable situation, but all the more proof of salsa’s addictive nature and
universal attraction. |
| Salsa History | |
|
Salsa’s roots are in the Cuban Son, a fusion of Spanish harmonies and melodies with African rhythms which evolved at turn of the twentieth century in the islan’s eastern province of Oriente. It developed into the sound and style we know today, however, in New York City in the 1960s and 1970s. Cuba had led the Latin music world for many decades in the twentieth century, regularly exporting the latest and most popular styles, rhythms and dances across the globe- son, rumba, guaracha, charanga, manbo, conga, cha-cha-cha. The island also featured many fine virtuoso and innovative musicians and composers, as well as the best bands and arrangers. After Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959 Cuba became embroiled in ideological conflict with the USA, who imposed a stifling political, cultural and trade embargo on its tiny Caribbean neighbour. Thus new music and the top Cuban bands were denied access to the ever-growing market for Latin American music in the USA and elsewhere, and Latin musicians from the USA were banned from visiting the island. The healthy two-way cultural exchange that been a major driving force in promoting Latin and Cuban music internationally suddenly stopped. The focal point of Latin music thus shifted to New
York City, where many expatriate Latino musicians, particulary Puerto
Ricans, kept Cuban music alive, and the melting pot of the Big Apple-
with its influences of jazz, soul, funk and rock- new elements were
added to the classic son style. By 1971, this music was no longer
being called son, but had acquired the name ‘salsa’. Salsa in Spanish
literally means ‘sauce’ and was regularly used by latin musicians
and singers to hype a song, soloist or live concert, being a metaphor
for ‘hot’ or ‘tasty’. Listen to classic recordings from the 1960s
and you hear singers shout ‘salsa!’ as the brass section riffs behind
a trumpet soloist or a conga drummers cuts loose with a fiery percussion
discussion. As salsa began to reach a wider international audience, it was only a matter of time before people buying the music would want to learn to dance the traditional ‘casino’ couples style that accompanied it. Salsa classes became the norm, first in NewYork and the USA, and then spreading like a wildfire across the globe. Everywhere there were expatriate Latinos, salsa clubs would spring up and classes would be taught, often by Cuban, Colombian, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, teachers. And now today, there are thousands of salsa dance classes around the world, and even more people dancing to the music, week in, week out, The whole world is dancing, but now it’s to the clave beat! |
| --Merengue | |
| As music (and dance) form, is mostly strongly identified with the Dominican Republic. Its vibrant rhythm, infectious horn lines and contagious lyrics has made Merengue (like Salsa) a transnational phenomenon, spanning an increasing the number of adepts around the world in an ever-shrinking globe. | |
History of Merengue |
|
| What is not commonly know is that there are several kinds of merengue in the Dominican Republic alone, and there have been forms of the merengue indigenous to other Latin American countries, some of which have become extinct. The from of the merengue that we are most familiar with originates from El Cibao region of the Dominican Republic and is called Merengue Cibaeno. It was considered by some to be the music of the underclass, a little like what bachata is now. The merengue’s rise to prominence and acceptance by all classes was stimulate by two key events. The first was its role in maintaining Dominican cultural identity from the time when the United states took over the running of the Dominican Republic’s customs house in 1905, which has great repercussions on national sentiment. The second was the adoption of the merengue as a national symbol by the dictator Rafael Trujillo. These factor are largely responsible for the dominant portrayal of the Dominican Republic as the home of the merengue. | |
| Merengue the Dance | |
| The Merengue is an
extremely accessible dance, mainly because the level of coordination
between legs and arms is less crucial to beginners dancers than,
for example in Salsa. People can, with little or no instruction,
meringue straight away. Ladies in particular can learn to dance it
very quickly, as long as they receive a good lead. In many places,
instructors tend to teach off meringue into salsa by introducing
the armwork in the merengue and fitting the footwork later in salsa.
This is a little unfair to merengue, since learning dancer tend to
perceive the merengue as a poor person’s salsa, instead of being
a rich dance form in its own right.
The basic merengue is danced as a walk, a step being taken with each leg in alternation on every beat. The amount of hip action varies according to personal preference. It is considered an asymmetrical dance beacuase, in the basic walk, the same leg is used at the beginning of each new bar of music. Dancing merengue to time is easy because the beats are usually obvious, but the timing aspect of merengue is kept simple for a reason. It’s because merengue is more than just about stepping on the beats. It’s aboput dancer expressing themselves to music, and the merengue’s flexibility is supposed to encourage just that. What happens between the beats of the music is just as important. The real trick is dancing in a manner that reflects the rhythm structure, the music pulses and the way the melody weaves through it. Merengue is an energetic, contagious, fun, sexy and an elegant form of dance. |
|
| It is called musica del amargue, which means music of bitterness – the Dominican blues. It is the music of the heart and of the soul. Bachata popularity has increased immensely in the past couple of years, drawing dancers all around the world to the floor, old and young alike, improvising on a stately minuet-style pattern of steps with a saucy flick of the hip as if to remind us we are in the Dominican Republic!!! | |
| History of Bachata | |
The Dominican Republic
shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola In Cibao, the northern agricultural region, the bachata developed from the traditional guitar basic romantic bolero, popular in the Spanish speaking countries, into its own syncopated bachata rhythm. Musical gatherings called bachata in rural bars, brothels, at cockfights and in a backyard enramadas (bowers), where singers flung bawdy couplets at each other, brought the music into disrepute, associating it with places of dissolute pleasure. The bachata was considered too rude and vulgar to enter into the musical mainstream that was dominated by merengue, but it survived to become the voice of poetic love and social comment in the Dominican Republic. If you’ve lost your love, you listen to bachata in a bar until the tears flow. If you’re with your love, you dance bachata until your hips ache. It is called musica del amargue, which means music of bitterness – the Dominican blues – touchingly used by those who can’t read or write to communicate their feelings or sentimientos. It is the music of the heart and of the soul, the music of the poor and disadvantage, sung usually by men in a nasal voice ( voz anodada- meaning spoiled/ruined voice ) accompanied by a powerful tenor and baritone harmony-duo chorus. The bachata’s thumping bass and flowing tightly plucked guitar arpeggios, reminiscent of central African guitar riffs, draw dancers on the floor, old and young alike, improvising on a stately minuet-style pattern of steps with a saucy flick of the hip as if to remind us we are in the Dominican Republic!!! |
|
| --Reggaeton | |
Reggaeton is a Latino hybrid of dancehall reggae and hip hop, though its influences include more traditional Latin sounds like salsa, merengue and bachata. From San Juan to Tokyo, reggaeton is everywhere in 2008 and its stars are packing out concerts at home in the Hispanic countries, across the United States and in Europe. For a time suppressed by the authorities in its home land Puerto Rico, this raw, bass-heavy dance music has been embraced by the urban underclass across the Spanish speaking world. Having made a sizeable dent in the consciousness of hip hop fans in the States, its now garnering massive interest from major labels in the wake of international hits like Daddy Yankee's 'Gasolina' Singers and MC's like Don Omar, Nina Sky and Tego Calderon are in demand for collaborations with top hip hop and R'n'B artists, adding some Caribbean spice in much the same way Sean Paul did a few years ago. But this new sounds did not spring fully formed from the glossy studios of New York. It was first crested in the streets of Panama and Puerto Rico and, like so much Latin music and culture, its origins lie in migration, in this case that of Jamaican labourers to Panama for the construction of the Panama Canal. As reggae moved into the digital era and dance hall exploded internationally in the late 80's and early 90's Panamanians of Jamaican origin such as El General began recording Spanish-language versions of reggae hits by the likes of Shabba Ranks and little Lenny. While reggaeton today has moved away from simply mimicking dancehall tracks, the early 90's ragga beat lives on. Reggaeton's lyrical themes have been characterised by a preoccupation with sex uninhibited and often crude rhymes, not to mention lewd dancing based around a style knows as 'perreo' (or 'doggy'), leave little to the imagination and have sparked people's interest in the music and the culture behind it. There are, however, artist like Tego Calderon, Votio and Vico C who are pushing a more conscious and sophisticated message and after the crossover successes of 2005, reggaeton looks set to become a permanent part of the latin urban music around the world. |
|
| --Rumba | |
Rumba is the spirit and soul of Cuban music and dance. The fascinating rhythms and body expressions make it one of the most popular dances. It is a combination of three different rhythms: Yambu, Guaguancó and Columbia. Each one has its own story, feel, meaning and timing: YAMBÚ: Slow, mellow, sensual and fluid. Represents when the couple first meets and get to know each other. GUAGUANCÓ: The next stage, building up: the man making advances and the "vacunao" (movement which symbolizes his sexual conquest). The woman is seductive and provocative: she attempts to turn away and cover herself, and a game of passion and teasing ensue! COLUMBIA: Historically danced only by men but very occasionally can be seen danced by women. This may be the most complex form of Rumba. In it, the dancer imitates ball players, bicyclists, cane-cutters, and a variety of other figures. The rhythm is more upbeat and driven. It is a free dance style allowing the dancer to demonstrate their style and ability to improvise and essentially "challenge" the others... Rumba is fiesta. Rumba is the whole of the music, singing, and dancing that makes up a party. Yvonne Daniel (1995) writes, "Rumba is a passionate dance, considered beautiful by many. Often the highlight of a community event or social gathering in Cuba, it embodies important elements of life: movement, spontaneity, sensuality, sexuality, love, tension, opposition, and both freedom and restraint. It requires play as well as deliberation. It involves the human body, the human voice, and tremendous rhythmic sense. And since the Cuban Revolution of 1959, rumba has become even more enigmatic, full of contrasts and contradictions, reflecting life and projecting national goals in contemporary Cuba." The style emerged over the last century in the barrios found on the outskirts of Havana and Matanzas; in time, spreading throughout Cuba. This music was born from African descendants and Spanish descendants finding commonality in their experiences of oppression at the hands of the ruling classes. These white descendants of the Spanish, cut off from their origins, established new forms of social relations which brought them closer to the life of urban blacks. Ancestral gestures and movements that were characteristic of the black or mulatto population in Cuba played a part in the development of rumba. The creation of rumba was not a simple question of a profane style borrowing directly from ritual dancing (like a dance to Chango, or a palos ritual dance); neither was it a caricature or a debasement of the original elements of ritual dance, but rather rumba emerged as a new expression of cultural characteristics that were latently present in the population that created it. This is clear in the vocals, percussion and different forms of dance. At first, rumba was performed in the places where people in the neighborhood usually gathered together; the meeting place could have been an empty plot, a cafe or a small room. Everything with any potential for percussion was used to make music: the side of a cupboard, the drawer of a chest, any pair of sticks, etc. Rumba started up, just like that, without need for a reason, just as did ragtime, candombe, marinera and other Afro-American styles created all over the Americas. The original meaning of the word rumba is not known; however, it belongs to a class of Afro-American words such as tumba, macumba, tambo, and cumbe that were used to describe a party, both on the continent and on the islands. |
|
| --Son | |
| Son is one of the most important music and dance styles from Cuba. It's a result of combining Spanish and African influences. It's a style that became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente. The oldest know son is "Son de la Ma Teodora", from about 1570 in Santiago de Cuba. It was played by small bands, using guitar or tres (guitar-type), maracas, guiro, claves, bongo, a marimbula and a botija. It combines the structure and elements of Spanish cancion and guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arara origin. In the 1940's Arsenio Rodriguez became the most influential player of son, creating the modern Afro-Cuban sound, the son montuno. He was especially influential incorporating improvised solos, toques, congas, extra trumpets, percussion and pianos. Son is considered as the root of salsa. | |
| --Conga | |
| The Afro-Cuban Conga is a carnival-type street dance, done by a group of dancers. The name "Conga" refers to the Cuban drum and the basic steps are 1,2,3 kick (or Bump) then repeat on the opposite side. | |
| --Cha Cha Cha | |
| A Cuban music that evolved in the 50's in Habana. The name cha cha cha is an imitation of the rhythm from dancing Cuban side steps. Enrique Jorrin came up with the first full-fledged Cha Cha in 1951 "La Engañadora" It's a cheeky, lively and flirtatious dance. It has a catch-me-if-you-can atmosphere, and is light and bubbly. It has a distinctive syncopation where 5 steps are danced to four beats hence the cha cha cha one, twoŠ Cuban Motion is an important aspect of this dance as well as maintaining quick compact steps. | |
| !Hechale limon doble! | |
Alfonso Rios |
|
If you really want to understand
a country and its people, then listen to their music and experience
their dances. |
|