Bachata

The bachata is a danceable musical genre originating in the Dominican Republic, within what is called urban folklore. It is considered a derivative of the rhythmic bolero and merengue.

In the execution of the traditional bachata, the bolero maracas were replaced by the güira, the virtuoso and free execution of the bongo typical of the Cuban son was assumed, and guitars were incorporated in the style of the popular Latin American trios in Cuba and Puerto Rico. At first, this crude way of interpretation was known as "bolerito de guitarra".

Bachata arose in the urban marginality of the bars and brothels of Santo Domingo. During the 1960s and early 1970s, scorned as music for the poorer classes, it was known as "música de amargue". This concept referred to the state of melancholy caused by heartbreak, always reflected in the theme of his compositions. Its diffusion in those years was limited to a few stations, since it was considered vulgar music.

The massive interest in rhythm arose from the eighties, with the importance that rhythm reached in the media. It was declared an intangible heritage of humanity on December 11, 2019 by Unesco.

Etymology

In the early 1920s in Cuba, the term "bachata" was used to define a type of festive social gathering. Etymologically, the word bachata is of African originand designates partying, revelry and partying, according to Fernando Ortiz Fernández.^{[citation required]}

Bachata was synonymous with popular recreation, a patio party, on the street or in neighborhoods, and this links it to its African background. On the other hand, we notice its connection with Spain in the fandango, a cultural manifestation to which, in the words of Marcio Veloz Maggiolo, "Almost all the chroniclers who touch on this subject refer to an open festivity and not to music." ^{[citation required]}

In Santo Domingo, the oldest reference to bachata as a name to designate parties of any type of music ―and not as a musical genre―, is found in documents dating from 1922 and 1927. The 1922 report was refers to the common man from the town of Sabaneta, on the Northwest Line, and thus describes what we can find there:

...everything you can flatter your vices and miscontaining appetites: cockfights, treats and rum; but what you love most and attracts is the party (if it is of accordion) or the bachata if it is of guitars and songs or boleros. There it is long hours, between drink and drink, without worrying for nothing the social heterogeneity of set, nor the suffocating halito with which the dust and sweat radiate the environment, nor the uncivil way they take one another the dancers, until the night goes back to the home.

History

Origins

The Latin American bolero, as a musical expression during the 30s, 40s and 50s, penetrated the taste of Dominicans. This rhythm coexisted with other expressions of Latin American music, also very popular at that time in the Dominican Republic, such as the Mexican corrido, the huapango or the pasillo, among others.^{[citation required]}

The popular music of romantic trios, quartets, ensembles, and soloists from countries like Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, among others, constituted a strong influence on those popular Dominican musicians who were developing their trade in the marginal areas of Santo Domingo and other cities, in the early sixties. This made it possible to articulate a musical expression typical of the Dominican Republic from the 60s.

First stage

Singers such as Rafael Encarnación, Tommy Figueroa, Luis Segura and Edilio Paredes belong to this stage.

On May 30, 1961, José Manuel Calderón, accompanied by the trio Los Juveniles, recorded the songs "Borracho de amor" and "Condena (qué será de mí)" at the studios of Radio Televisión Dominicana, the latter by Bienvenido Fabian. These performances are considered among the earliest recordings of the genre.

Rafael Encarnación was the one who managed to place this rhythm in the popular taste of the people at the beginning of the 60's in Santo Domingo. Encarnación debuted in October 1963 with the songs "Muero contigo", "It's too late", "I would be able to", "Slave of your love" and "Don't deny it", among others. However, his career in the artistic milieu lasted less than a year, being cut short by his death in a traffic accident in March 1964.

In 1964, Luis Segura recorded "Cariñito de mi vida", his first single. That same year Radio Guarachita was born, owned by Radhamés Aracena. La Guarachita, originally a record store located on El Conde street in the Dominican capital, had a fundamental participation in the radio broadcast of the genre, apart from being practically the only company that made recordings for bachata artists.

Second stage

This stage had to do with the appearance of a new generation of singers promoted by Radio Guarachita. Voices like Mélida Rodríguez "La Sufrida" and Leonardo Paniagua arose, who were part of an expression that had its peak between the 70s and 80s, until this trend declined in favor of slightly more "refined" expressions of bachata..

Luis Segura "El Añoñaíto" was an important figure in this second stage. His song "Pena", recorded in 1982, opened a page in the history of this rhythm, generating the popularity necessary to strip this musical expression of the rejection it generated in the sectors of the Dominican middle and upper classes, which until then it was exclusive to the marginalized classes of the country.

Leonardo Paniagua also contributed to the popularity of bachata in those years, with his versions of popular songs such as «Chiquitita», by the Swedish group ABBA, and «Amada amante», by the Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos.

Third stage

It was verified from the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s. This stage represented a qualitative leap with respect to the path traveled in the past. More elaborate products are achieved in terms of musical arrangements and a substantial improvement in the texts. This stage presents two aspects, the "pink" aspect and the "techno-bitter" aspect.

The pink slope was represented, mainly, by the singer-songwriters Víctor Víctor and Juan Luis Guerra, being a result of the hybridization of bachata with the romantic ballad. The productions "Inspirations" by Víctor and "Bachata Rosa" by Guerra quickly rose to the top of the charts in the Dominican Republic, also gaining popularity abroad.

On the other hand, tecnoamargue, with electronic instrumentation, brought with it fusions with other modern expressions of music. The greatest exponents of this subgenre were Sonia Silvestre as an interpreter and Luis Días as its composer and creator of fusions with genres such as rock and jazz, as well as other Dominican and Caribbean rhythms, a subgenre that became very popular in the country. It should be noted that the poetics of Días was diametrically different from that of Víctor and Guerra: if they were characterized in their lyrics by romanticism, Luis bordered in his texts with abstract expressionism.

It is also worth noting Anthony Santos known as "el Bachatu" or "Tu Mayimbe", who is one of the greatest exponents of all time in the genre. He is considered the pioneer in modern Bachata since at the beginning of the 90's he played an important role in redefining the genre to include romantic lyrics, poppy guitar licks and the implementation of new instruments such as piano, timpani and saxophone..

Current stage

Romeo Santos, Maite Perroni and Prince Royce have entered the bachata genre.

Bachata nowadays is marked by the emergence of digitized forms of music and the introduction of other airs and instruments such as congas, saxophones and timbales, as well as fusions with other musical genres. In the lyrics, the influence of the pink side is felt, in contrast to the erotic-sexual double meaning of bachata prior to the 80s, giving priority to expressions of love and heartbreak, nostalgia and, the lifestyle where the woman is a source of love and desire.

In this stage, bachata becomes popular and imposes itself as a rhythm with its own characteristics. The company La Guarachita and its station disappear completely. The figure of the businessman and the artistic promoter appears, with which the bachata artists become mass phenomena in the country. Voices like Blas Durán, Ramón Torres, El Chaval de la Bachata, Zacarías Ferreira, Luis Miguel del Amargue, Elvis Martínez, Frank Reyes, Teodoro Reyes, Raulín Rodríguez, Yoskar Sarante, Chicho Severino, Luis Vargas and Joe Veras are part of this new legion of bachateros who popularized the genre in the Dominican Republic.

The definitive internationalization occurs with the Aventura group, with Romeo Santos as vocalist, who alone establishes himself as the most important exponent in this new stage of bachata and the most internationally recognized. There are also groups with international projection such as the Dominicans Monchy & Alexandra and the American Xtreme, as well as soloists such as Ivy Queen, Prince Royce, Maite Perroni, Toby Love or Daniel Santacruz, all of them recording bachata hits without being from the Dominican Republic.

Sociology of bachata

Bachata, like tango and other Latin American musical expressions, reproduces melancholy and the spirit of love, combining the passion of love and heartbreak with the nostalgia of the migrant which, in the Dominican case, is a migration from countryside to the city. In bachata, nostalgia in musical expression coincided with the period of growth of suburban culture from rural-urban migration that began in 1962. In that period, bachata was known as "música de amargue", for that nostalgic evocation.

Dance

The basic movement of the dance is a series of simple steps that produces a movement from front to back or from side to side.

A possible scheme would be the following: Counting that the basic step is 4 times. With the right foot a chassé is made to the right, the 1 (starting with feet together we simply open with the right foot to the right side). The 2nd left foot meets the right again. On the 3rd we repeat the first step (open right foot). And on the 4th we join again (the woman joins her left foot to the point) giving an upward hip bump to the side where we came from (in this case we would give it to the left), the woman will make it more pronounced. And the same sequence is repeated to the other side, but since we are now going to the left side, we open with the left foot. We can imagine that we move all the time in the same line but not forwards and backwards, but from side to side.

The basic step is simple, the difficulty lies in maintaining the step of the legs, while the arms move (this movement of the arms has a wide repertoire since the man will indicate to the woman turns, passes of the arms in front, for behind, curls, throwing of arms) at the same time that you dance with one person, since it is a dance for two. The woman must learn to make certain figures with her arms. In bachata the shape of the hands is the same as in salsa, because in this sense they come very hand in hand.

The man directs the woman with movements of his arms and hands and it is not an easy task, since he must know how to guide her. A man who does not guide well will not be good at bachata, just as it happens in salsa or tango. The woman must know how to follow the man and interpret what she indicates with each movement of her arms.

Bachata is a sensual and seductive dance just like tango and kizomba.

Over the years, various styles or ways of dancing have developed. Initially the traditional (or Dominican) style, with shorter quick steps and much more separated from the partner; where the movement of the feet and hips counts a lot. Later the sensual style was born, attributed to Korke Escalona and Judith (Spanish dancers), with incidences of tango and zouk, among others. New combinations such as fusion bachata have recently emerged, which could include steps from urban genres and bachatango.