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Merengue and Bachata:
A study of two musical styIes in the Dominican Republic
Monica Nyvlt,^ by B.AA4.A.
A thesis submitted to
the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
in partial fùlfillment of
the requirements for the degree of (Master of Arts)
Department of Sociology/Anthropology
Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario
January, 200 1
200 1, Monica Nyvlt
C h a ~ t e rTwo
BACHATA
The OrÏgins of Bachata
The music that is now called bachata has been influenced by a long tradition of guitar
music in Latin America; the Mexican ranchera. Cuban son and bolero. Puerto Rican jibaro music and Colurnbian-Ecuadorian style vals (Inchaustegui 1995: Hernandez 1991 ; 1995). This guitar tradition consisted of tnos or quartets which incorporated guitars and percussion
instruments such as maracas, bongo drums. the giiira, and clmes (Hernandez 1995: 5). In
the Dominican Republic. spoons were also used as percussion instruments to accompany the guitar ensembles. The early style of bachata that emerged in the 1960s was characterized as romantic guitar music and the most notabIe influence on this style was the Cuban baiero.
The Cuban bolero made its entrance into the Dominican RepubIic in the nineteenth
century with the migration of Cubans fleeing the Wars of Independence between 1895 and
1898 (Hemandez 1995: 5; Manuel 1995). The Cuban migrants settled mostly in the Cibao
region (Hemandez 1995: 5). They brought with them musical styles such as the son and the
bolero, which have influenced the development of the Dominican bolero and Iater bachata.
Interestingly, the region of the Cibao seems to be the region where merengue @ico and
bolero, later bachata, developed. It is no mistake that today the Cibao region is considered
not only the birthplace of merengue, but also of bachata (la cuna del merengue y la bachara).
gathering in a pnvate home, generdly of the underprivileged, in which musicians would
improvise songs made up of a guitar ensemble, maracas, the marimba ( a bass instrument),
and occasionally spoons. This musical spontaneity was characteristic of these social
gatherings (Inchaustegui 1995: 244)- Because these gatherings were associated with rural
areas, the middle and upper classes would not cal1their parties bachata. Merengue tbico was also marginalized at the beginning of its development because o f its association with rural inhabitants (campesinos). Interestingly, it was these sarne upper classes who later gave the
name 'bachata' to the music itself. But because of the stigma visited on rural inhabitants, the
word 'bachata' came to have negative connotations. It was used by the upper classes who
saw the music, and the people who played if as 'vulgar' or 'rude' (Inchaustegui 1995: 245:
Hernandez 1995: 8 ). It was this prevailing stigma that prevented bachata from emerging into
the mainstream.
During the Iast years of the Trujillo dictatorship, bachatas (fiestas) were popular in
the rural areas. People would gather before the middle of the day, eat sancocho (stew made
of potatoes, yuca, and sometimes meat), drink nim,and musicians would play romantic
boleros, Mexican rancheras, as well as merengue tbico, played w i the guitar instead of~ the
accordion. Eventually, the bolero style associated with the parties would take the name o f
bachata (Ramos and Moquete 1999: 38). Deborah Pacini Hernandez argues that bachata was
also influenced by the Dorninican merengue, because it was originally played with a guitar
ensemble pnor to the incorporation of the accordion (Hernandez 1995). Today, bachata
musicians incorporate merengue into their repertoires, but it diffèrs from the orchestra or ri)ico style in that it is played with guitars instead of accordion or saxophone. This style was
given the name bnchata-rengue. Julio Alberto Hernsindez argues that bachata music was
influenced by the Cuban guarncha (Inchaustegui 1995: 244). He states that musicians that
played at a bachata (fiesta) sometimes incorporated rhythms characteristic of the Cuban
guaracha. He fllrther argues that these are the same rhythms that are found in bachata music
today (Inchaustegui 1995: 244). While today bachata music is danceable, it was
characterized as a romantic music during its formative years.
One issue in the literature on bachata has to do with when it made the transition fkom
an informal gathering to a musical style (Ramos and Moquete 1999; hchaustegui 1995;
Hernandez 1995). It is argued that bachata developed as a musical style during the mass
rural-urban migration that followed the Trujillo dictatorship, Its formative y e n s were fiom
the mid- 1960sto the 1970s (Hernandez 1990; 1995; Inchaustegui 1995; Ramos and Moquete
1999; Manuel 1995).
The genre heard today is an urban one. Duruig the Trujillo dictatorship, the people
fiom the countryside were stnctly limited in their mobility. If campesinos, especially those
fiom the Cibao, were found living in the city they were considered vagabonds (vagos), and
nobody dared to take this risk during the dictatorship (Ramos and Moquete 1999: 28). In
1964, rural-urban migration led to the creation of migrant neighborhoods within Santo
Domingo, These neighborhoods housed the margindized poor of Santo Domingo (Ramos
and Moquete 1999: 29; Inchaustegui 2995: 245; Hernandez 1995). Bachata was first known as 'rnzisica romantica. ' 'bolero campesino,' or 'rntisica popular.' It was seen by the middle
upper classes as a 'sad' imitation by campesinos trying to irnitate the Cuban bolero. Pioneers
of bachata such as Luis Segura and José Manuel Calder611 sang love songs wïth a slow
and depend prîmarily on manual labor (Ramos and Moquete 1999; Hemandez 1995: 74).
Many of these jobs were created by the migrants themselves. The most cornmon involved
selling cigarettes and gum in street stalls, and shining shoes. Women who worked in the
informa1sector rnostiy provided domestic services. Wifh the arrivai of recording equipment, another job was created: selling musical tapes in the informal sector. Today this is called
piracy (pirateria). This informal business consisted of obtaining the final recorded product,
reproducing it, and selling it at reduced prices. Early bachata music, or bolero campesino, was primarily circulated through the informai economy as it was initially banned from
mainstream music stores and most radio stations, except for Radio Guarachita and La Voz
del Tr6pico. Because most of the bachata musicians and audience were of rural ongins, and were now so nurnerous in the city, bachata tapes soId very well among them (Hemandez
The informal sector, then, was associated with the urban barrios, and life in the barrio
became a cuiturai system unto itself. The characteristic that most defined barrio culture was
the sitar-based music, still called 'bolero campesino ', of the late 1960s (Inchausteguï 1995: 245; Hemandez 1995: 76). The tradition of having informal gathenngs (bachatas) continued
in the urban barrios, and the music played in these was romantic guitar music. It was not
accepted into the mainstrearn, but it was not totaily shunned either because the guitar traditions such as the Mexican ranchera were toved by al1 Dominicans (Ramos and Moquete 1999: 38; Hemandez 1995). It was slowly being recognized by some radio stations that there
was a large audience for this music and, therefore, economic potential. Merengue had long
been established by this time, and despite its association with Trujillo, it continued to be the
national symbol. While merengue thrived in the political. social, and economic changes that
were taking place, bachata reflected the Iife o f a growing nurnber of urban poor, the direct
consequence of these sarne changes (Ramos and Moquete 1999: 29: Hernandez 1995: 77;
Inchaustegui 1995: 245). According to Dominican Professor Jacobo Moquete, the most
significant time in the formation of bachata as a musical genre occurred in the mid 1960s to
1970s with the opening of Radio Guarachita in Santo Domingo. Its owner, Radhames Aracena, was a radio broadcaster (loctrtor) during the Trujillo era. He was the only radio
broadcaster who was permitted to import and play foreign music such as the Cuban bolero
and Mexican rancheru- This guitar music was loved by al1 Dominicans and was cornmody
the music played in the rural bachatas (Rarnos and Moquete 1999: 29). Aracena formed
Radio Guarachita in 1 965 and played an important role in promoting bachata music in the
1960s and 1970s. His radio station was always dedicated to this music. and was recognized
as the most popular bachata radio station in the country (Hernandez 1995; lnchaustegui 1995;
Ramos and Moquete 1999). As o f 1999, Radio Guarachita was closed, Radhames Aracena
having passed away.
As mal-urban migration increased, rural musicians were Iooking for opportunities
to record their music. Aracena was one of the first to give these musicians an opportunity
to play and record at his station. He was hesitant at first because he considered the local
guitar music of poor quality; a music that needed to be 'refined' in order to seU in the marketplace (Hemandez 1995: 85). José Tabar Asilis was the first disc jockey to play musicians' records regularly on his radio station La Voz dei Trbpico in Santo Domingo.
Asilis played the music as the musicians presented it to him. Aracena, on the other hand,
mother' (rnadre materna) for dl the campesinos who migrated to the ciw' (Interview, Santo
Dorningo, 1999). It was a place where campesinos who were lost in the city could go. At Radio Guarachita the disc jockeys would amounce on the radio the narne of the person and
direct family members to pick them up. The station was located at the center of the city on
the street Calle El Conde ( E l Conde Street) in the Parque de Independencia (Independence
Park), which made it accessible. When h i l y members Iiving in the city made announcements to those from the countryside who were expected to visit them, they would
always end by saying "And if you get lost in the city, go to Radio Guarachita" (Interview.
Santo Domingo, 1999). Aracena would also dedicate a certain amount of air time to the new population who wanted to send messages to their family members in the countryside- This was known as the progrma de salzrdos (greeting show) (Hernandez 1995: 93). The station became dedicated and targeted to a certain population: the rural inhabitants, and those undergoing the painful rural-urban transition and living in Santo Domingo's city slums. Radio Guarachita became
an important transitional place which provided services to help migrants. As Hernandez
observes: "The influence of Radio Guarachita extended beyond the music industry and into
the social redm: it helped introduce people of rurai ongins to patterns of urban life and
provided a significant cultural link between urban and rurai contexts?'(Hemandez 1995 : 87).
With Radio Guarachita, bachata musicians got air play and the opportunity to record. Still, it was not a music that was accepted into the mainstream, and most radio stations would not play it. As one informant explained to me, "Aracena was the first person who dared to commit themselves fully to bachata music, and he took the chance and the criticisms against
him for doing so" (Interview. Santo Domingo, 1999).
During the 1960s and 1970s, the attention of radio broadcasters and listeners in the
mainstream was focused on the new synthesized and modern m e r e n s e of Johnny Ventura
and others. The local guitar music was stigrnatized by mainstream forrns of media. It was
simply seen as a poor imitation of the Cuban bolero, and as 'traditional.' It was not yet
thought that these characteristics could be reconciled ~ 4 t hthe progressive and modem
identity that merengue music symbolized. The acceptance of the bolero campesino was
impeded by the fact that it was looked down upon by the middle and upper classes, who
ignored the marginalized inhabitants of Santo Domingo and the music created by them.
When this music was given the name bachata in the early 1970s. it was limited
m e r , and came to represent 'backwardness' in a time of rapid economic growth and
increasing socio-cultural diversity. during which merengue kvas the preferred music of the mainstream (Inchaustegui 1995; Hernandez 199 1 : 1 1 1 ; 1995; Austerlitz 1997). The conflict
between the traditional and modem represented a class conflict. Mereng-zre i$ico, though
neglected by Dominican record companies because it was not yet marketable, was still regarded as the country's folk identity (Hernandez 199 1 : 111 ;1995; Austerlitz 1997; Manuel
1995). Bachata, on the other hand, was not seen as such, as it was in the process of emerging
as a unique genre. Bachata was played mostly for and by the rural inhabitants who rnigrated
to the city and were of the poor class. In spite of compnsing a majority of the urban
population, these people were marginalized politicatly, econornically, and socially
(Hernandez 1991 : 1 12; 1995).
Merengue symbolized the growing modernity and fieedom of the new democratic
society. In the 1970s and within this growing industry, bachata music, which previously had
been a predorninately romantic music, was now articulating a different reality than that of
merengue musicians- This reality was one of acomrnunity undergoing a transformation from nird to urban life. Bachata's tempo increased, and the lyics changed fkom being romantic
to harsh depictions of irnpoverished urban life (Hernandez 1990: 35 1 ; 1995: Ramos and
Moquete 1999: 29; Inchaustegui 1995: 245). Interestingly, in the 1 9601s, bachata's stylistic
predecessor was played on radio stations, but when it was given the name bachata, as well as its corresponding ciass association, no mainstream radio station in Santo Dorningo would play the new genre, Radio stations that did play bachata functioned from A.M, ainvaves.
Bachata music was never played on F.M. stations until the earIy 1990s (Interview at Radio
Criolla, Santiago, 1999).
In the 1970s, bachata was first called mtisica cnchivache (meaning trivial or
insignificant), then rnzisica de guurdia (guard music). Both names denoted something vulgar
in the guitar music, in order to push it out of the national arena. The latter term referred to
the guards who were of the working classes (Inchaustegui 1995: 245; Hernandez 1995: 1 17;
Ramos and Moquete 1999: 30). This music was later given the narne bachata, which carried
the sarne negative connotation and class association. One explanation as to why the narne
bachata was given to the music was because the word was a combination of two other words:
'bar' and 'chata7,two words commonly used in the capital region (Santo Domingo) (Ramos
and Moquete 1999: 29). The military guards were said to visit bars in the evenings that
would play music such as bolero, son and gztaracha, al1 of which influenced what is now
called bachata. The guards would order a shot of rum which \vas then called 'chata' ( R m o s
and Moquete 1999: 29). AIejandro Paulino Ramos argues that this interpretation may o r may
not be true but is nevertheless important because it is representative of the kind of ways in
which people try to explain and make sense of their cultural expressions (Ramos and
Moquete 1999: 29). The term mzisica de guardia, however, had negative connotationst and the different narnes given to bachata by the upper middle classes were to identiQ the musicians themselves and the cIass they represented in the urban city. Bachata continued to be recorded on vinyl records with inexpensive equipment, and continued to be prornoted and distributed through the few forms of radio referred to above. A large part of bachata's dissemination was through the local colmado or neighborhood bars
(barras) (Hernandez 1991: 78; 1995; Manuel 1995)- The colmado is not only a local store
that stocks everything fi-om rice to cigarettes; it is also a place where people gather and
socialize. A colmado is, in the words of Pacini, ".. .a common social space for everybody
and is one of the most important contexts for the exchange of uiformation, ideas, and
culture" (Pacini 1989: 79). Men fiequently met there in the evenings to talk with fiiends,
drink Presidente (Dominicm beer), play dominoes and listen to music. Women previousiy
were not part of the evening gatherings, but would make many trips to the colmndo during
the day, as it was more common to buy food daily rather than to stock it. This was a social
space in which bachata was disseminated, and many owners of colmados owned jukeboxes
and played the latest songs. Merengue, on the other hand, was integrated into the formd
economy, being sold at major record stores in Santo Dorningo, and could be heard mostly
on F.M. radio. Today, the colmado continues to be an important social space, but radios
One informant told me that bachata originally began as a protest (Interview, Santo
Domingo, 1 999). It was a way in which a musical style could empower a group that was
neglected by mainstrearn politics and social Me. Jacobo Moquete argues that bachata music created itself out of an unconscious protest as a result of class distinctions (Rarnos and
Moquete 1 999). He says that the musicians fought with music: they too k the bolero and gave
it Dominican characteristics which reflected everyday life- The protest was not one that was explicit, but rather was found in the Iyrics that depicted the r e a l i ~of living under extremely
poor conditions, and well as ways of coping. Music constituted one f o m of coping.
Hernandez also observes that the lyrics during this time reflected the refùsal of musicians to
accept the mainstream values of those that shunned them (Hernandez 1995: 1 15).
Balaguer was defeated in 1978 by Antonio Guzm6.11, head of the Dominican
Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolzrcionario Dominicano). This political change was meant
to be celebrated by looking forward to fieedom from Balaguer's repressive regime. lnstead,
the Dominican population soon found themselves again under the control of a c o m p t
govemment (Hernandez 1 995 : 140; Austerlitz 1997). Guzmh appointed to government
positions farnily members who were so corrupt that the country's economy suffered even
M e r. There was a decline in the agricultural sector, which led to an increase in
manufacturing goods in urban factories for export. A second wave of rural inhabitants were migrating to the city and not fmding jobs, ending up in shanty towns which were already
overpopulated. The period between 1978 to 1982 led to an even more severe econornic and
social crisis in the country, and the poor were the most devastatingly affected. Urban barrio
culture took on a different identity fiom its rural antecedent. This c m be traced in the
thematic and stylistic changes in bachata music, which fiirther served to facilitate and
reinforce the development of the social identity o f the barrio cuIture-
The most significant effect of the transition from rural to urban life was the
tremendous effect that the economic crisis had on the traditionai rural Dorninican farnily
(Hernandez 1990: 352)- Men had previously been the breadwinners of the family, but in the city they had great difficulty finding jobs. Women^ started^ to^ find^ work^ in^ order^ to supplement income, More women rnigrated to the city and found jobs in the new economy in export manufacturing. Others worked in the informal sector as servants, selling food and other products in Street stalls, while others t m e d to prostitution (Hemandez 1990: 352). The fact that women were more involved in the workforce had important consequences on the previous set roles of men and women in traditional rural patterns of marnage (Hernandez 1990: 352). Women who were more economically independent were seen as more likely to leave their husbands if they were having too rnany differences. Not being able to firlfill their
traditional role of breadwimer, men's feelings of inadequacy increased, and they were
challenged by women's fkeedom in the city. This situation was expressed in the lyrics of
bachata music, whose musicians were mostly men. The songs were mostly written by men,
and directed towards the actions of women (Hernandez 1995: 184)- (^) Women, no longer bound by the same rural family and community ties (although new ties emerged) experienced
far more sexual fieedom and social flexibility than they had in rural areas (Hemandez 1990:
353). Men who were unemployed or underemployed spent more time in city bars and brothels, where casual sex, often mediated by money, was more avaiiable than in rural areas.
Drinking became a way o f coping with the depression of urban Iife (Hernandez 1990: 353).
Déjenme beber hasta que muera Let me drink until1 die
No se metan en mi vidaporfavor Please don't get involved i n
my life El licorpzrede acapar laspenas The liquor can capture the p a i n Qzre esta stifiiendo mipobre corazbn That my poor heart is sufferEng En la cantina me paso noche y dia (^) Day and night 1 spend in t h e bar
Tomando por zrn falso qzrerer Drinking for the betrayal o f a
lover
Despies que me dijo qzre a nadie
mas qzreria After he told me he loved mo
one else Lo v i con otra enîregcindole su amor 1 saw him with another, givïmg her his love
Yu para mi no hay crfegria
Vivo en tin mzrndo de rrisreza
Ctiando me falta el valor Aclamo a la cervext (Mélida Rodriguez)
For me there is no happiness; 1 live in a world of sadness When 1 have no more courage 1 haiI to the beer (My translation) Today there are still fewer women bachata musicians than there are m e n More
women, however, are involved in the music indusûy. and more wornen bachata simgers are
emerging, especially in the Cibao region. One male musician that 1 spoke with i n Puerto
Plata expressed the view that as long as there are women, there will be bachata, impl ying that
the relationships that men have with women is the prime motivator for lyrics and singing.
The thematic changes in the 1970s and 1980s, fiom the romantic lyrics of i t s stylistic
predecessor, reinforced the stigmatization of bachata and the urban barrios. The m u s i c dedt
with many themes: sexual appetite, deception by a woman (or man), abandonment and
despair, and drinking as a way of coping with despair (Hernandez 1995: 159). Songs of double sexual meaning began to arise, which also reinforced the stigma.
Songs ofdable sentido (double sexual meaning) are songs that are not concerned with romantic courtship, but rather with sexual courtship without the emotional a t t a c h e n t or social consequences of sex outside of marriage (Hernandez 1990: 36 1). The narrative space, then. is occupied with descriptions of sexud conduct using objects that can refer to men or women's sexual body parts in order to describe sexual acts ( Hernandez 1990: 361). The romantic bachatas occupied a narrative space in which the singers, mostly men, would speak ofwornen, refen-ing to their beautifûl ha& eyes, and so on- Songs of double sexud meaning occupy a different narrative space. These songs contributed to bachata's stigma in the early 1970s and 1980s, because the lyrics cvere viewed as 'vulgar'. The Iyrics were clearly symptomatic of machista ideology (Hemandez 1990: 36 1 ). Machisrno, translated to English, means he-man-ship, or stud-man-ship (Anders 1993: 14). According to Donald Mosher, machisrno as a gender ideology is defined as "a masculine display complex involving culturally sanctioned dernonstrations of hypermasculinity both in the sense of erotic and physical aggressiveness" (Mosher 1991: 199). The lyrics of doble sentido songs were playful, and were very popular. The narrative space presented a humourous situation because the lyrics used were a play on words
(Hernandez 1990: 361). This game o f sexual courtship thus became a play on words. The
songs expressed not only men's sexual desire as well as their needs, but also that of the
woman's needs and desires (Hernandez 1990: 36 1)- Those needs are without any emotiond
and social attachments. As Hemandez observes, ".. .these songs seem to express this aspect
which is 'natural,' fun and even physically exhausting: doble sentido songs ofien refer to
sexually voracious women who besiege the hapless singer with endless sexual demands"
