Spanish Caribbean
This is a song for the orisha (spirit) Babaluaye. The song is part of an oru-- a term that denotes a sequence of rhythms used to communicate with the spirits in Cuban santeria.
At the 3 second mark, you can hear the following timeline being played by a percussion instrument:
X0X0XX0X0X0X
X = sound
0 = silence
This is taken from Sacred Rhythms of Cuban Santeria.
At the 3 second mark, you can hear the following timeline being played by a percussion instrument:
X0X0XX0X0X0X
X = sound
0 = silence
This is taken from Sacred Rhythms of Cuban Santeria.
Clave (2-3) and bongo drum -- This is an example of a "two-three" clave rhythmic pattern featured in son and salsa.
Clave (3-2), maracas, and electric bass -- This is an example of a "three-two" clave rhythmic pattern featured in son and salsa.
This is a salsa recording by Cheo Feliciano and the Fania All-Stars (1971). According to Robin Moore, the title refers to "an indigenous princess in what is now the Dominican Republic at the time of theSpanish conquest (late 1400s). She initially welcomed the Spanish but eventually led an uprising against them when she realized that they planned to enslave her people. ... Anacaona here represents the island of Puerto Rico and her oppressor in this allegory is the U.S. government" (2010, 113).
Salsa is a transnationally-cultivated commercial dance music that began to mature in New York during the 1960s. It contains numerous stylistic influences, most noticeably the Cuban son of the 1950s, but also Puerto Rican folkloric musics, North American jazz, and others. According to Moore, salsa's distinguishing features include "the prominence of particular instruments such as the timbales [two drums with metal frames set on a stand], its harmonic complexity, and frequently its lyrics" (109). Here is a LISTENING GUIDE to "Anacaona."
Salsa is a transnationally-cultivated commercial dance music that began to mature in New York during the 1960s. It contains numerous stylistic influences, most noticeably the Cuban son of the 1950s, but also Puerto Rican folkloric musics, North American jazz, and others. According to Moore, salsa's distinguishing features include "the prominence of particular instruments such as the timbales [two drums with metal frames set on a stand], its harmonic complexity, and frequently its lyrics" (109). Here is a LISTENING GUIDE to "Anacaona."
Composed by Tito Puente, this song, sometimes described as a "cha cha," became a mega-hit after it was recorded by the "Latin rock" group Santana in 1970. In his book, Tito Puente and the Making of Latin Music, ethnomusicologist Steven Loza calls "Oye Como Va" an "international anthem" that has become "the most played Latin tune in the world" (1999, 45, 73). This is Santana's famous recording of the song. Here's an interesting NPR story about the song.
This reggaeton piece from 2004/2005 was made famous by Puerto Rican artist Victor Santiago (aka Noreaga and N.O.R.E.). "Oye Mi Canto" was probably the first reggaeton hit to reach beyond Spanish-speaking listeners. Remember "boom ch-boom chick"!
"Gasolina" was composed and performed by Puerto Rican singer/songwriter/producer Daddy Yankee (born Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez). Ethnomusicologist Jan Fairley (2006) suggests that while the sexual connotations of this reggaeton song (e.g., the gasoline pump can be likened to the male genitalia) may account for some of its popularity, the lyrics can also be understood in relation to "the larger economic and political context of PetroCaribe and the organisation’s significant challenge to the US [George W.] Bush government’s continued 40 year plus seige tactic of isolationism against Cuba (including it in its ‘axis of evil’). This has resulted in the forging of stronger friendship links between Cuba and Venezuela" (p. 476).
This is a commercial merengue written and performed by Kinito Mendez. Merengue "has been the most popular form of dance music in the Dominican Republic since the early twentieth century" (Moore, 2010, 83). Some of the main characteristics of contemporary merengue are 1) its fast tempo; 2) the prominence of horn sections (especially saxophones); 3) unique percussion instruments (e.g., the tambora drum, güira scraper, and congas); and 4) a organizational structure consisting of a paseo (instrumental introduction), cuerpo (the "body" of the song in which the verses are sung), and the jaleo (a call-and-response section with interlocking and overlapping horn parts).
Be sure to check out the LISTENING GUIDE to this song.
Be sure to check out the LISTENING GUIDE to this song.
This rather comical song is an example of Puerto Rican seis. "Seis" literally means "six"; this is possibly a reference to the six-member dance groups composed of children who, in times past, participated in religious festivities in Spain.
Seis is the most common style of música jíbara (roughly, "country music") performance. The lyrical form of most seis pieces is known as décima, which features ten octosyllabic lines of text, usually with the following rhyme scheme: ABBAACCDDC. Here is a LISTENING GUIDE.
In Music in the Hispanic Caribbean (Oxford University Press, 2010, 36), ethnomusicologist Robin Moore states that seis "is a general term for string-based music incorporating sung poetry, largely derived from Spanish antecedents. It may be played for listening or for dancing. This tradition is hundreds of years old; through the early twentieth century it represented the mainstream of secular entertainment on the island."
Seis is the most common style of música jíbara (roughly, "country music") performance. The lyrical form of most seis pieces is known as décima, which features ten octosyllabic lines of text, usually with the following rhyme scheme: ABBAACCDDC. Here is a LISTENING GUIDE.
In Music in the Hispanic Caribbean (Oxford University Press, 2010, 36), ethnomusicologist Robin Moore states that seis "is a general term for string-based music incorporating sung poetry, largely derived from Spanish antecedents. It may be played for listening or for dancing. This tradition is hundreds of years old; through the early twentieth century it represented the mainstream of secular entertainment on the island."
Traditional Afro-Puerto Rican percussion genre. It emerged in the early 20th century and has come to be known as "the newspaper of the people."
The Smithsonian Folkways website has useful information about plena and bomba (another Afro-Puerto Rican genre).
The Smithsonian Folkways website has useful information about plena and bomba (another Afro-Puerto Rican genre).
Recorded by the professional group Los Pleneros de la 21 (The Plena Performers from Bus Stop 21). This group specializes in folkloric genres such as the plena and the bomba. Robin Moore states, "Members take their name from a bus route that used to run through a predominatly Afro-Puerto Rican neighborhood of Santurce, outside of San Juan" (105).