Dominican Republic musica tipica, typical Dominican Music, Bachata

Defining Bachata

An excerpt from the book "Bachata, A social history of a Dominican popular music", published by Temple University Press in 1995, written by Deborah Pacini Hernandez.

Used by permission. To read more about the author click here..

MÚSICA TÍPICA - Bachata / Música de Amargue

Bachata,or Música de Amargue/Music of Bitterness originally was music created by the lowest of the low adrift in Santo Domingo. It was played in the cabarets and whorehouse's of the capital where these people frequented. Its forms, instrumentation and so on are originally derived from country music,but it developed as a result of the displacement of rural people to the cities. The early Bachata -- La Sufrida, is all about this rootlessness, loss, drunkenness, whoring, etc. It was even banned from radio play because it was full of double entendre, and in general dealt with low-lifes, so they censored it. The rich, affluent, and city people would not listen to this type of music. If they did they would not admit to it.

It is considered to be Dominican Blues. Most of the lyrics are about lost love and sad events. Thanks to Juan Luis Guerra who turned the music around by sweetening and polishing up the genre. Also, now with many of the new groups that have appeared in the past few years Bachata has changed and has become more main stream. It is now more accepted by all.

This band has helped to make Bachata more acceptable to the masses. Aventura is Anthony Santos (lead singer and featured composer), Leny Santos (musical producer and guitarist), Max Santos (bassist and rap artist) and Henry Santos Jeter (singer and composer).

contributed by Macocael

Monchy y Alexandra Monchy ( Ramon Rijo born September 19, 1977) and Alexandra (Alexandra Cabrera de la Cruz Born October 19, 1978 ),Dominican born and singing together as a group for about five years. They have the ability to keep the authentic Folkloric rhythms of the original romantic bachata and have melded in other rhythmic influences such as Antillean, Rock and Arabian music. Web Site Hits include: Yo Sin Ti Y Tu Sin Mi (2004), Dos Locos (2002), Hoja en Blanco (2001).

Frank Reyes web site

Zacarias Ferreira "The Voice of Tenderness" The first Bachata music I ever owned was Zacarias Ferreira. I bought a cassette in the street off of some man. When a Dominican friend saw it he called it "tinka, tinka music", I had never heard it before so I had no idea what he was talking about. I took it back to USA and listened to it with my dictionary trying to understand the lyrics, which didn't work very well. I loved it. So Zacarias Ferreira will always have a special place in my heart. Janette Keys Web site | My Space

Joe Veras was born on May 1,1964 in Cevicos, a municipality of Cotui in the Dominican Republic. He is the fourth of thirteen children born to Mr. Soto Veras and Mrs. Maria del Carmen Batista. He involved himself in music at an early age starting in ecclesiastic choirs in his village - Cotui. He pursued a university degree in Santo Domingo, then chose to pursue an artistic career. A music project led to a contract with Darlenis Records Company. He recorded his first production, Con Amor, in 1993. His debut was well received by bachata afficionados.

Joe Veras signed a contract with Hipolito Records in 1995 and recorded Con Mas Amor and Asi es la Vida. These productions spread throughout the country and internationally and won him the Casandra Award in 1997. In New York he received a platinum award for selling more than 300,000 copies of Con Mas Amor. He gained further notoriety in the Dominican Republic, winning local awards called premios globos.

Joe Veras then signed a contract with J&N Records and the hit song Por Tu Amor became one of the leaders in popularity followed by Carta de Verano.

For over a decade, Joe Veras has exercised leadership as a composer, musical arranger and bachata artist. So far he has managed to record seven soulful productions for his fans: Con Amor, Con Mas Amor, Asi es la Vida, Aceptame como Soy, Reencuentro, Simplemente and Desde mi Alma.

With the launch of his eighth production, Carta de Verano, he earned further acceptance both on a national and international level, and became one of the most popular Bachata singers of our country. Carta de Verano has eleven songs; Intentalo Tu is the song that is being promoted both nationally and internationally. Currently, Carta de Verano is one of the highest selling CDs under the tropical music category "bachata" and one of the highest selling bachata albums in Latin America. In 2003.

This style of music can be heard in most of the Colmados of the country. It is a couples style dance where one is held close. It is an easy dance that has a classic tap of the foot action. A 4 step with the 4th being a little tap. Each person has their own little style they add to the dance move. It is an enjoyable dance and can be quite romantic. Along with the music being more accepted by all the dance has become quite popular. It is a good time enjoyable.

Pictures of Aventura in concert 2005. Thanks US Latino

Zacarias Ferreira in concert 5-05. Thanks US Latino for the picture.

Frank Reyes in concert 2-06. Thanks US Latino for the picture.

Raulin Rodriguez was born June 16, 1970 in Montecristi Dominican Republic. He started playing the guitar at a young age but really never had musical training. He thanks his grandfather for giving him the knowledge and desire to peruse his musical talents. He started playing in the group Agrupación de Antony Santos. Then he formed his own group called Raulín Rodríguez, El Cacique del Amargue in which his sister, Casilda Rodriguez, was part of, in 1992.

Raulin Rodriguez in concert 8-04. Thanks US Latino for the picture.

Antony Santos (“El Mayimbe de la Bachata”) was born in a province in the northwest of the Dominican Republic. From very young age he showed a great love for music. He was inspired by the diverse romantic singers that his parents listened to on Dominican radio. This music he listened to influenced him as a young person who dreamt about being a great artist. Antony learned to play the guitar when he was young and he played his melodies and used his romantic voice

to entertain all who would listen wherever he happened to be. Later he decided to start a musical group that immediately became a true sensation in the Dominican Republic because of the subject of his songs. He writes about what he knows, his songs are his interpretation and reflections of the feelings of the men and women of the town in which he grew up in. Little by little Antony Santos came to be one of the more popular artists of Bachata. He is one of the artists with the highest record sales of the country and the most requested for presentations on the national and international level. Because of his great presence and his artistic ability Antony has come to be called “El Mayimbe de la Bachata”. Antony is one of the great greats of the modern Bachata. Helping to open the doors for making Bachata become so popular Latin American.

picture/image Antony Santos in concert

Joe Veras " Por Tu Amor" music video

Joe Veras performed at the Miss Canada Pageant in Toronto and opened the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. He went on to win his second Casandra Award for Bachatero of the Year. He has shared his love for music and romance in the form of bachata in Belgium, Holland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Guadeloupe, Antigua, Tortola Island, St. Croix, St.Thomas, St. Martin, Aruba, Curacao, Martinique, Canada and the United States. Joe Veras is greatly admired and respected by his fans all over the world. He is a man with a soft voice and a unique style, a poet of grand emotion.

Thanks Joe Veras "El Hombre de Tu Vida and his staff for sending us this information/Translated by Lesley D.

Andy Andy at the Casandra Awards 2006. They won best Video of the year for their song Qué Ironía

Thanks US Latino for the picture

For Arts and Music links check out our listing on the LINKS PAGE (opens in a new window)

July 13, 2006 Congratulations Aventura!!

They won an award for Artista Tropical Favorito in the Premios Juventud Awards for their song Un Beso.

Aventura’s Anthony "Romeo" Santos performed with Thalia the song No, No, No. We have the video for your watching and listening enjoyment here, in our Musica Tipica page.

Aventura live video | Aventura - La Boda video | Aventura - Un Beso video | Aventura - Hermanita video |

Here are some links to Aventura videos (they open in a new window)

To see the video Princesa at You Tube(opens in new window)

ROMAN "C" - "Dimelo Bajito"(nominated best bachata song in 2005) This video was made in Colonial Zone. Check the scenery, it is beautiful. Thank you Horacio Ontiveros (director) for telling me about this video.

Anthony Santos "Lloro" Video recorded at Sosua Car Wash 1/28/2006

Here is a link to another Antony Santos Video

picture/image of Joe Veras live 11/2005 thanks US Latino

picture/image Alex Bueno in Concert 11/05 Thanks US Latino

Alex Bueno was born in San José De Las Matas in Dominican Republic. When he was a boy he started playing the guitar and sang in public meetings, in school and the church choir. In 1978 Wilfredo Vargas organized the Festival De La Voz where all the youth of the country could participate. When Alex performed he showed he had the talent to succeed with his performance and his powerful voice he won the contest. Gerardo Veras invited Alex to join his orquestra the "Santo Domingo's All Star". His performance stood out as to get the attention of Fernando Villalona and he was invited to join his band. In 1982 Alex Bueno and his friends Andrés De Jesús, Julie Pie, Jhonny Tulanga, Bilomar "La Conga", Manuel "La Guirra", and others, started their own group called Alex Bueno & La Orquesta Liberación. Two years later he went off on his own to peruse his solo act. In 1991 he joined J&N Records and made the album

"Ternuras" which in 1992 broke all record sales of that time. He combined his singing with a little comedy in his lyrics. In 1998 he made the bachata album "Bachata A Su Tiempo" when bachata was not widely popular. This album was the largest bachata album in USA and took bachata to a place where noone before was able to take it. His second bachata album names "Corazón Duro" out sold the previous album and he won the Premios Lo Nuestro 2000 for Best Traditional Album. After the 2 bachata albums he recorded a romantic music album and a merengue album then another bachata album. He did another bachata album "Pídeme",

picture/image alex bueno in concert 11_05

To see the Video "El Hombre Soy Yo"

Alex Bueno along with arranger Maestro Ramón Orlando then made a collectors disc of all his best songs called "20 Años Después" (Volumen 1 y 2). He now is working on a bachata disc produced by Martires y Robin. It is said that this disc will surpass all the past recordings Alex Bueno has done. Keep up the records and giving us music we love!

The music that today is called bachata emerged from and belongs to a long-standin Pan-Latin American tradition of guitar music, música de guitarra, which was typically played by trios or quartets comprised of one or two guitars (or other related stringed instrument such as the smaller requito), with percussion provided by maracas and/or other instruments such as claves (hardwood sticks used for percussion), bongo drums, or a gourd güiro scraper. Sometimes a large thumb bass called marimba or marimbula was included as well. When bachata emerged in the early 1960s, it was part of an important subcategory of guitar music, romantic guitar music -as distinguished from guitar music intended primarily for dancing such as th Cuban son or guaracha- although in later decades, as musicians began speeding up the rhythm and dancers developed a new dance step, bachata began to be considered dance music as well. The most popular and widespread genre of romantic guitar music in this century, and the most influential for the development of bachata, was the Cuban bolero (not to be confused with the unrelated Spanish bolero). Bachata musicians, however, also drew upon other genres of música de guitarra that accomplished guitarists would be familiar with, including Mexican rancheros and corridos, Cuban son, guaracha and guajira, Puerto Rican plena and jibaro music, and the Colombian-Ecuadorian vals campesino and pasillo- as well as the Dominican merengue, which was originally guitar-based.
     Before the development of a Dominican redording industry and the spread of the mass media, guitar-based trios and quartets were almost indispensable for a variety of informal recreational events such as Sunday afternoon parties known as pasadías and spontaneous gatherings that took place in back yards, living rooms, or in the street that were known as bachatas. Dictionaries of Latin American Spanish define the term bachata as juerga, jolgorio, or parranda, all of which denote fun, merriment, a good time, or a spree, but in the Dominican Republic, in addition to the emotional quality of fun and enjoyment suggested by the dictionary definition, it referred specifically to get-togethers that included music, drink, and food. The musicians who played at bachatas were usually local, friends an neighbors of the host, although sometimes reputed musicians from farther away might be brought in for a special occacion. Musicians were normally recompensed only with food and drink, but a little money might be given as well. Parties were usually held on Saturday night and would go on until dawn, at which time a traditional soup, the sancocho,  was served to the remaining guests. Because the music played at htese gatherings was so often played on guitars (although accordio-based ensembles were also common), the guitar-based music recorded in the 1960s and 1970s by musicians of rural origins came to be known as bachata.The word bachata also had certain associations, upper-class parties would never be called bachatas. In his book Al amor del bohío (1927), Ramón Emilio Jiménez, a distinguished Dominican "man of leters" and "writer of manners," described a bachata in terms that reflect how such gatherings were associated by the elite with low-class debauchery and dissipation:
     The "bachata" is a center of attraction for all the men, where the social classes ao those who attend them are leveled and where the coarsest and libertarian forms of democracy predominate. The most elegant figures of the barrio are there, daring and audacious. The setting of these dissolute pleasures is a small living room impregnated by odors that seem conjured to challenge decency....In an adjoining room a guitarist plucks and unleashes into the contaminated air of the house (a) blazing street-level couplet, to which a singer with a well-established reputation as a "second" makes a duo, provisioned with a pair of spoons which he strikes to accompany the melody.
     Among Dominicans there is considerable disagreement as to exactly when the term bachata come to refer to a particular kind of music. In the absence of any systematic research into the subject, there is a tendency for people to rely on their own memories, which vary according to their age, class, and where they grew up. According to bachata musicians themselves, it was in the 1970s that the guitar-based music they recorded came to be identified by the term bachata, which by then had lost its more neutral connotation of an informal (if rowdy) backyard party and acquired an unmistakably negative cultural value implying rural backwardness and vulgarity. For example on hearing one of these recordings, a middle- or upper-class person might say something like "¡Quítate esa bachat!" (Take that bachata off!). By using the term in this way, a style of guitar music made by poor rural musicians come to be synonymous with low quality. The condemnation fell not only upon the music and its performers, but upon its listeners as well; the term bachatero, used for anyone who liked the music as weel as for musicians, was equally derogatory.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, the worsening social and economic conditions of bachata's urban and rural poor constituency were clearly reflected in bachata. The instrumentation remained the same, but the tempo had become noticeably faster, and the formerly ultra-romantic lyrics inspired by the bolero became more and more concerned with drinking, womanizing, and male braggadocio, and increasingly, it began to express desprecio (disparagement) toward women. As bachata's popularity with the country's poorest citizens grew, the term bachata, which earlier had suggested rural backwardness and low social status, became loaded with a more complicated set of socially unacceptable features that included illicit sex, violence, heavy alcohol use, and disreputable social contexts such as seedy bars and brothels.
     Until recently, bachata was a musical pariah in its country of origin, the Dominican Republic. Since its emergence in the early 1960s, bachata, closely associated with poor rural migrants residing in urban shantytowns, was considered too crude, too vulgar, and too musically rustic to be allowed entrance into the mainstream musical landscape. As recently as 1988, no matter how many copies a bachata record may have sold -and some bachata hits sold far more than most records by socially acceptable merengue orquestas- no bachata record ever appeared on a published hit parade list, received air play on FM radio stations in the country's capital Santo Domingo, or were sold in the principal record stores. Bachata musicians appeared only rarely on television, and they performed only in working-class clubs in the capital. In contrast, even second rate merengue orquestas were given lavish publicity and promotion, and they entertained at posh private clubs and nightclubs.

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