Bachata Essay

Bachata has become very popular in the United States and around the world. Being Dominican born, the success this genre has had internationally really makes me proud of my roots. All of the artists that have contributed to the rise of this genre in general make us dominicans proud. Some of today’s artists that perform bachata, started from nothing while some older ones emerged from extreme poverty, bad times of recession and dictatorship. While some bachata performers do not become as big as others, most contribute to the growth of the genre and as a result they are recognized by many.

Bachata music comes from the Dominican Republic. Early bachata musicians or “bachateros” adopted the style from other genres such as Bolero and Merengue. “The genres differ in terms of instrumentation for the music, too. Merengue music tends to use saxophones. Salsa is characterized by drums and horns. Bachata depends upon the guitar and the güira for its distinctive sound.”(Udemy). It is to be noted that most bachata songs

are mostly about love, sorrow and the results of both. During the early 20th century, Bachata could not be openly played nor recorded due to the regime of Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. At the time, this genre of music was looked upon as vulgar and not acceptable, however after the death of Trujillo in 1961 Bachata was played by the people more openly, while at the same time it was starting to be recorded and spread freely. Before Trujillo’s death however these actions would have resulted in incarceration or death.
Out of all notable bachata artists, my artist of choice is Romeo Santos due to the impact he has had crossing bachata over to America, fusing both english and spanish in his songs to appeal to a bigger audience.

Not only did he mixed languages together but he also he also fused bachata with unrelated genres like R&B and hip-hop. “Born Anthony Santos on July 21, 1981, in the Bronx, New York [Romeo Santos] is a bilingual bachata singer/songwriter who rose to fame in the 2000s as the lead vocalist of world-renowned boy band Aventura prior to embarking on a chart-topping solo career in 2011…” (Billboard.com). I would say that some of my favorites Romeo songs are not bachatas on their entirety, the collaborations that he has made with hip-hop artists like Usher, Drake and Nicki Minaj in singles such as “Promise”,“Odio” and “Animales” respectively are the reason as to why I enjoy listening to this style of bachata rather than the traditional guitar, drums and

güira.
Personally bachata has had a big impact throughout my life. Since I was little, my family members always tried to get me into dancing it and since they had fun and laughed at me when I tried, I grew up shy from dancing bachata. To this day as a result I fear of embarrassing myself while dancing. Though Romeo has made it a little bit easier for me to listen to bachata without having to go back to those memories making me enjoy the beats and the lyrics more without the necessity to feel that I need to dance. Though his music videos are a bit too graphic,, Romeo is a great guy to listen to and one of the main guys to help bachata go mainstream.