Creolization in Caribbean Music - Spanish
The lecture videos by Christine Gangelhoff on the Spanish-speaking Caribbean highlight numerous instances of creolization in that region's music.
According to Professor Gangelhoff, the lesson videos present Son as an example of creolization in Caribbean Spanish. The music genre is referred to as a dance and singing style from Cuba on the website https://www.spanish.academy/blog/the-influential-sounds-of-son-cubano-in-cuba/. Around 1930, it rose to fame on a global scale. It's one of the most well-known Latin American music subgenres. Son Cubano is a musical style with African and Spanish roots that uses a variety of Cuban instruments in addition to guitar and percussion. Cuban percussion and bell patterns are used to create African rhythms for son Cubano. It features montunos, short melodic motifs, or phrases that change in pitch throughout a composition. Traditional sones are often in duple metre, based on simple European-derived harmonic patterns (I-V, I-IV-V), and begin with a strophic verse portion.
Here is an image of Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro, a Cuban group credited with expanding the Son musical style
Below is a video of Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro performing the song Suavecito, which demonstrates the Cubano Son genre. I started singing suavecito along with the band which I'm sure will be stuck in my head for the next few days.
Another example Gangelhoff provides in the Spanish part 4 video is the merengue musical style that originated in the Dominican Republic. Initially performed on European stringed instruments (bandurria and guitar). Years later, the accordion supplanted the stringed instruments, completing the classic merengue ensemble's instrumental structure together with the güira and Tambora. According to the website https://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/merengue.htm," Merengue has existed since the early years of the Dominican Republic (in Haiti, a similar dance is called the Meringue or Mereng). It is possible the dance took its name from the confection made of sugar and egg whites because of the light and frothy character of the dance or because of its short, precise rhythms."
Here is an image of Luis Alberti, a Dominican Merengue musician, arranger, and conductor.
Below is a video of Alberti performing his "Mi Merengue (1954)" song, which falls under the merengue musical genre. In this video, you can hear the güira clearly and it really sets the tone that this is Spanish Caribbean music.
One final example of creolization in the Spanish Caribbean is the food. Puerto Rican cuisine is based on cooking traditions and practices from Europe (Spain), Africa, and the indigenous Tanos. Puerto Rican food is comparable to Spanish and other Latin American cuisines, but it exhibits a distinct blend of influences, including indigenous flavors and ingredients. Locals refer to their cuisine as cocina criolla. The term criollo refers to Spanish Americans of European ancestry. The cuisine produced by European (mainly Spanish) colonists combining their traditional recipes made with native Caribbean foods and cooking skills is known as cocina criolla.
Here is an image of Puerto Rican Mofongo, a famous Puerto Rican dish made with fried green plantains mixed with chicharrones (crispy pork skin) and garlic.
References
Canún, N. (2021, October 23). The Influential Sounds of Son Cubano in Cuba. Homeschool Spanish Academy. https://www.spanish.academy/blog/the-influential-sounds-of-son-cubano-in-cuba/
https://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/merengue.htm
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