The Bomb The Important Role Of Music In Puerto Rico

The genre bachata was developed in the Caribbean island of Dominican Republic. This genre was created based on boleros (slow-tempo Latin music), son cubanos, waltzes, Mexican music and merengue. Bachata is well known as love and depressing songs in which many people describe them self with this genre. At one point back in the earlier 1960s, bachata was considered vulgar and low-class. “Acceptance of the music has increased significantly in the last two decades, although some dominicans, both individuals living on the island and stateside, still do not accept the music because of the implication of its lower-class origins and associations with such themes as crime, poverty, drinking, and prostitution’’(Stavans 47). The genre Bachata has spread and grown so quickly for the past few years that is has become very famous in the United States, Europe, China, and South America. The genre bachata is well known to attract people with its lyrics, instruments, and dance since it identifies many people with real life events.

Spanish-language music enhances the development of self-identity of students in a university setting where the music is uncommon because music builds on culture and makes students more aware of their culture and their roots. In “Reclaiming Latino Identity: An Attitudinal Study of the Influence of Rock En Español on Latino Cultural Identity,” Elisa Sahagan notes that the genre of music has assisted Latinos to maintain Spanish-speaking skills and brought them closer to their culture (1). One reason being is it is a crucial part of shaping individuals’ identities. Listening to Spanish-language music assists Latino students to maintain a balance and shape their identities. First, Spanish-language music, such as Norteñas and Corridos, tell stories

In this essay I will be describing and going into detail about salsa, plena, bomba, and merengue music. What really is the style of music along with the importance it has in and for the island it belongs to. As well as the effect the music has dealing with tourism and some of the famous musicians in that style.

Samoa, a small island nation found in the southern end of Pacific Ocean. Although, what they lack in size is compensated by their rich, Polynesian culture. Music is a powerful force in Samoan culture, and shapes their identity with the use of resonant lyrics sung in their native tongue, song, and dance used to parallel their everyday lives and beliefs. Storytelling is as big of an element to Samoan music and dance as any rhythm produced by their instrumentation, and if it is not directly addressed through the lyrics, is implied through action. The line between daily life and music is blurred in Samoan culture through the use of their instrumentation and a vast variety of dances performed to tell their story.

One of the first things I noticed while attending the Puerto Rican Festival was the language differences (2017). Most people spoke Spanish, and Spanish seemed to be their preferred language over English. At the festival, it was difficult to communicate. People carried

As most people will agree on, music is essential to life. Music is heard while working, driving, sleeping, and even studying. Music can be a form of expression and also a form of entertainment. Songs can describe the life of a person, or they can describe their hopes and dreams. These songs can be heard everywhere from the supermarket to the bookstore. Just like emotions, music is the world’s universal language. Therefore, Chicano Music represents the lives of Mexican Americans who went through hardships as well as accomplishments.

According to www.talks.cam.ac.uk, “Globalization emphasises difference, promotes pluralism, and increases diversity through the accelerating circulation of a multiplicity of cultural practices. In turn, music affected these elements of globalization in significant and often unexpected ways.”

Hispanic’s music had a great impact in USA. Nowadays, Americans listen to Hispanics’ music. Hispanics’ music now is part of American’s culture. These changes in USA began around of 19th century, when Hispanics immigration increases in the USA. One of the big changes in music occurred around 1940s, when Americans began to recognize the efforts of Cuban-American musicians. One of the Cuban bands was Cugat. It was known better Orchestra ‘based in New York’s Waldorf Astoria’ which had a great visual and musical style. Another Cuban band was Machito who were dominated as one of the best New York’s scenes at that time. Thanks, to those bans Americans adopted some of Cubans’ dances and performances such as rumba, mambo and cumbia. Americans used and still using the Cuban instruments like bongos and maracas to create their rhythms. Later on, Americans created Jazz by African Americans with the influenced of Cuban’s music.

Popular music is often one of the best lenses we have through which to view our own cultural orientation. Many of the artistic and experimental shifts in popular music have mirrored changes in our own society. For instance, the emergence of Elvis Presley as a public figure would signal the start of a sexual revolution and the growth in visibility of a rebellious youth culture. Similarly, the folk and psychedelic music of the 1960s was closely entangled with the Civil Rights, anti-war and social protest movements. In this regard, we can view popular music as an artifact through which to better understand the time and place in which it is produced. In light of this, the state of popular music today may suggest troubling things about our society.

The music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources have been Spain and West Africa, although many aspects of Puerto Rican music reflect origins elsewhere in Europe and the Caribbean and, in the last century, the USA. Puerto Rican music culture today comprises a wide and rich variety of genres, ranging from essentially indigenous genres like bomba to recent hybrids like

This paper will be comparing and contrasting Merengue Tipico music, which is a type of merengue, and bachata music of the Dominican Republic. Merengue and Bachata are the two most popular music genres in the Dominican Republic. These two kinds of music represent the Dominican Republic and its people. Many Dominicans have taken their music and traditions to different parts of the world. Mainly, the Bachata and Merengue have expanded to different cities of the United States and Latin America. Although both genres have a lot of characteristics in common, they also have many differences. Two of the main differences these two genres have are the instrumentation and their artists and composers.

Bomba is a kind of music that originated with the slaves that were brought to Puerto Rico.

One of the most striking observations I examined was the way in which culture was used to beautify and extol ethnic heritage during my first visit to downtown Holyoke. I witnessed culture functioning as an emblematic tool that was memorializing the Puerto Rican community through art murals, blaring salsa music [which dominated the air-resonance] and other manifestations that showcased Boricua ethos. Those same cultural cues remained during my second trip, but as I engaged more intimately with the residents and the commercial industries and governmental offices, these emblems revealed another meaningful purpose. These symbols of reconstructed nationalism were used to assert ownership over geographical space while challenging socioeconomic place. Similar to the Zabbaleen in Cairo whose social and economic position remains endangered, the Puerto Rican community in Holyoke is experiencing an immediate threat to their geographic space due to their socioeconomic place and threats of gentrification. Both cultures, which are distinctly unique and ethnically regionalized as a result, are thousands of miles apart spatially, but closely bounded due to the ability to use their culture as an instrument to combat the usage of socioeconomic place as an ideological weapon to regulate geographic space.

Throughout its history, music has permeated the significant events of American history. Its effect on American society and the way the American people cope with each event has only grown as popular music evolves and new genres reach more and more individuals. People can remember where they were and their exact surroundings to amazing detail when asked about life-changing events in history. Older generations will remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Their children will remember when Kennedy was assassinated and when man walked on the moon. Their grandchildren will remember much of the turmoil of the ‘70s and ‘80s and their great grandchildren grew up in the world impacted by the events of September 11, 2001. Even one’s surroundings during the start or end of a relationship or personal events such as graduation, getting a driver’s license, or getting married can all be paired with the music that was popular at the time.