Week 7 Blog Entry #4 (Final Entry)
Week 7: 2/19/2023 - 2/26/2023
Preface: Hello guys I have some bittersweet news, this week marks the last week of my bi-weekly salsa blog entries, however, this does not mark the end of my now salsa/bachata journey. This course has been a super fun time and an enjoyable experience. If anyone reading this could be or is a prospective DCE 306 student, I would definitely recommend this class! It is not super time-consuming, and the course material was very easy to digest. Super worth it, and I am very grateful to the prof of this class!
Material Used, and comments:
Reading 1: Bachata and Dominican Identity : La Bachata y la Identidad Dominicana by Julie A. Sellers
This week I read the introduction, and chapters 1 & 8. The introduction of this book simply paints a picture of the Dominican Republic and the place in which Bachata currently stands within the culture. The introduction as well offers a brief history of the Dominican Republic, and some of the impacts colonization and race have had on the island. It also describes how Bachata is viewed as an important part of the Dominican identity, and how those who play Batacha believe that its identity was born in their blood. The first chapter surrounds the music, dancing, and identity of bachata. It talks about how Bachata started as a form of music that was not recognized, and eventually something that was lamented by people in the middle and upper classes of the Dominican Republic. However, Bachata was eventually accepted and now is considered to be the "Latin Blues". I think this is a very interesting comparison since the blues genre in the United States developed in a very similar way. In chapter 8 the reading discusses multiple important modern-day Bachata artists, and the impact that they have had on the worldwide acceptance of Bachata. Chapter 8 as well discussed the birth of modern Bachata which was the Bronyx and the Dominican/Latin people who lived there. To me, it seems that the Bronyx has been a starting point for a lot of hugely popular Latin trends, and serves as a place of major inspiration for Afro-Latin people, which is awesome! My overall take on the material is that Bachata has evolved in a similar way to salsa, however, its origins are a little easier to explain since Bachata has not yet taken as many mainstream forms as salsa has. I think Bachata is super interesting, and I am gonna check out the bands that were listed!
Here is a picture of modern Bachata, notice how it is male-dominated and the clothes that are being worn as well as the hand holding.
Video 1: The Duke of Bachata | Joan Soriano Dominican Documentary Movie
Before I read this week's material, I watched this video for a beginning understanding of the context of Bachata. The video was very interesting since it demonstrated not only the life of a beautiful Bachata artist but the culture and the current situation of those who are living in the Dominican Republic. It is clear to me that the soul of Latin America, and humanity is expressed through the music that they play. Batcha rose in a similar way to salsa in the fact that it evolved out of the culture of a certain area, and in the music, they were able to be free. The dancing is as well similar to salsa, although a little slower and more intimate, it still rings of their shared cultural heritage.
Here it the duke of Bachata (Joan Soriano), the documentary is centered around him.
1)Rhythms & Musicality
The rhythms and musicality of Bachata are definitely different than that of salsa. Salsa rhythms focus on the cha cha cha, whereas the heart of Bachata has to be the guitar and voice of the artist that is singing. In the readings, the author describes how Bachata evolved from the lower classes and poorer parts of the Dominican Republic. The author as well describes how Bachata was viewed as music that was bitter, and how the themes of the music were about hardships with love and life in general. As well as can be heard in the documentary Bachata had a large focus on the sounds from an acoustic guitar. I think that the rhythms of bachata more closely represent the blues that are found in Cuba/Mexico as well as other parts of Latin America. As well the rhythms very similarly follow/reinterpret Latin American Boldaros into something uniquely Dominican. For me, the music acoustic music can be portrayed as sad, and demonstrate the hardship of Dominicans. However, I also heard in some of the music portrayals rhythms that are more uplifting and enlightening. I think overall the musicality of Bachata revolves around the guitar and the rhythms that are played really depend on the singer of the Bachata song. In the traditional Bachata style the sound can accurately display feelings of pain, but in other more modern styles, the Bachata can display a lot more complex and differing styles. This is due to the emergence of more modern artists from the Bronyx who have lived around a lot of different musical styles, and musical cultures.
Here is an early Bachata artist (Luis Vargas), he had a big impact on modern bachata artists and is someone who should be recognized.
2)Representation: Identity and Culture
The identity of Bachata is largely Dominican, and as well emotional. Bachata evolved around the Dominican Republic through its best, and worst times. The story of how Bachata was disliked and looked down and how even the name Bachata had a negative connotation in the culture it originated in was very interesting. Bachata now however is a core part of the Dominican identity, a lot of bachata artists refer to having the emotion of Bachata innately in their blood. I think this is super telling, and interesting since it shows just how closely tied Bachata is to its artist. As well the stories that Bachata tells of romance, and hardships have a unique of showing the Dominican roots. Through use of things like acoustic guitars, and the vocalist often being untrained, I think it shows how genuine Bachata came from a place where there were not many things. Obviously, the Latin American world was heavily affected by racism, colonialism, and oppression for many centuries. The damage that was done to the nations in Latin America was severe, and the people had to suffer for a long time. I think that these challenges helped to form the unique identity of the Dominican people and those challenges, especially economical, can be found in the Bachata music. Modern Bachata evolved out of the Bronx, and I think that modern Bachata displays more of the identity of the people from there rather than just that of its birthplace.
3)Performance: Body Expression
The performance and body expression of Bachata is more personal but faster pace couple's dance which is different from other forms of dance like salsa. The body expression of bachata is pretty precise in foot and hip movement as well as hand holding. Traditional Bachata is very formal in the way that it is male lead, requiring the male to lead the footwork and such. Modern Bachata is less formal, but still male lead with the couples holding hands during most of the dance. I think the body expression of Bachata is meant to express love between two individuals, and is meant to be a way of expressing outward intimacy. I think the cool part is how Bachata is different than salsa, where salsa can be both a couples dance or an individual dance. Bachata cannot be done without two people, and it requires a level of skill that is pretty difficult for a novice dancer. However, Bachata is not all formal in fact in the readings talked multiple times about how easy it was to innovate Bachata and the freedoms that the dancers have. In the fourth step of the dance, it is up to the dancer to decide where to place their foot, and how women are now able to make more decisions during the dance and do not have to limit themselves to how their male counterparts danced.
Here is a cool video, and pictures of popular bachata dances. It really helps to show body language, and how the dances are done.
4)Community Voice: How do we relate?
I think as someone who is from the United States, and as someone who loves the blues and guitars, I do actually really relate to the Bachata. I think the emergence of the bachata is very similar to that of blues in the USA, where the blues started as a way for "freed"African Americans to express themselves after the civil war and up until the present. Blues singers like Billie Holliday really have had an impact on my life, and music preferences. It is even interesting how the white upper class in the USA during the time of the peak of blues looked down entirely on the genre, thinking it was perverse. I think the bachata is similar in a lot of ways, and I think that the way the people of the Dominican Republic expressed themselves is very beautiful. I think as a nation, society, and people we can all relate through music and emotions. The stories we tell are through our voices, and sounds and I think that is highlighted in the story of Bachata.
5)Personal Voice
I currently relate to the Bachata through my love of acoustic songs as well as my love of expressive music. I personally relate to the way that uses a lot of emotion, and expression in voices. As stated in the above paragraph, singers like Billie Holliday have been really important to be due to the way she expresses her emotions through her voice. I think I currently relate to Bachata in a similar way in the way in which emotional expression is a core element of the music, and the vocals are a very important way to express such. I think however it should be important to speak about the ways I do not relate to Bachata such as the economic status of the early Bachata artists. Those artists often had to deal with very severe situations due to the economy which I have not had to deal with due to the numerous amount of privilege that comes with being white. I bring this up since I really want to highlight how although I can relate to the emotional side of Bachata, I cannot say that I fully relate to it since I have not had to go through the same experiences that the artists had to go through. As well as someone who is white, I could never truly understand the true effects of colonialism and how much it has damaged the Latin American world. I think it is inspiring just how much adaptability, and perseverance the Bachata artists had to go through. Anyways this topic has definitely piqued my interest in the genre, and I think that I will definitely listen to more of it!\
The picture below is of Billie Holliday, someone whose music I adore:
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