Merengue

Meringue is characterized by a fast pace and conditionally consists of three parts: rhythmic part, melodic part, vocals. To perform a merengue, at least three musical instruments are necessary, two of which are traditional for the Antilles : guiro (or guira ) and tambora . Tambora is a percussion instrument of African descent, a wooden drum covered in goatskins. They play the tambour by hitting the palm on one side and a wooden stick on the other side, as well as the rim. Guiro - an instrument from the fruit of a dried pumpkin, on which horizontal notches were applied, passing through which with a wooden stick, a sound was extracted. In modern meringue, guiro from tin is also used, which looks like a tube with corrugated walls. Both of these instruments are responsible for the rhythmic part of the merengue and are used both in folklore and in popular versions.

Folk Merengue (merengue típico)

The main instrument in the “typical” ensemble is a button accordion . The accordion gives a bright, rich sound and leaves wide scope for improvisation. Solo on the accordion is an integral part of folklore compositions. The accordionist is, in the vast majority of cases, also the founding leader of the group.

In folklore merengue, maraki and reed marimba (marimba de lengüetas) are also often used. The latter is a wooden box with a hole in the front part, partially covered with metal plates. They play on the reed marimba, hitting the plates with a hand or pulling them away.

Classic and modern merengue

In the modern merengue, the accordion is practically not involved. He was replaced by keyboards - piano and winds - trumpet , trombone , saxophone . Trumpet and trombone, as widely used in music of the "tropical" direction, make the melody fun and solemn. In particular, deafening batches of pipes are characteristic of merengue from the island of Puerto Rico. Dominican musicians often introduce one or two saxophones into the orchestra; in this case, the melodic pattern becomes smoother. Folklore groups in some cases also use the saxophone.

The emergence of a musical genre

The origin of merengue is still controversial. There are several versions of the origin of this genre:

1. The first merengue was composed and performed by Juan Bautista Alfonseca (Alfonseca, Juan Bautista, 1810-1875), a Dominican composer, leader of military bands and the author of the first Dominican Republic anthem ( Flérida de Nolasco ).
2. For the first time, merengue sounded like a triumphal melody after the battle of Talanker (1844), where Dominican forces defeated the Haitians ( Rafael Vidal ).
3. Merengue directly comes from the Cuban melody common in those days called upa (upa habanera). Upa came to the Dominican Republic from the shores of Puerto Rico in the middle of the last century ( Fradique Lizardo ).

Historiographers are inclined to believe that the third version of the origin of merengue is the most plausible. So, in the years 1838-1849, the upa habanera dance, which came into fashion first in Puerto Rico and then in Santo Domingo, became widespread. One of the movements of this dance was called “merengue”. It seems that this name was not mentioned anywhere until Colonel Alfonseca began to include fragments of this popular melody in his works.

At first, merengue was performed with the help of folk instruments, the most accessible, such as tres , cuatro (varieties of Caribbean guitars ), Dominican bandurria . At the end of the last century, a diatonic accordion was imported from Europe to the Dominican Republic, which, thanks to its ease of use, replaced banduria and guitars. But at the same time, the melodic possibilities of the accordion imposed some restrictions on the music, and so the merengue has remained virtually unchanged since then.

Merengue development until 1930

Despite the fact that the merengue quickly gained the sympathy of the people, high society opposed the new genre for a very long time, since the merengue had African roots. Other Dominican rhythms of the same origin were not attacked by the aristocracy, as they were mainly ritual dances that were practiced in rural areas, away from a wealthy society, while merengue danced in ballrooms along with classical dances. Another reason that merengue was out of favor with wealthy classes for a long time was the lyrics. Most of them were vulgar and abounded in swear words, such songs had no place in a decent dance parlor.

In 1875, President Ulises Francisco, Espaillat, Ulises Francisco, launched a campaign to ban merengue. This was no longer a necessary measure, since by that time merengue had already left large cities and had become popular in rural areas. It is especially widespread in the Sibao region (and, perhaps, therefore, this area is considered the birthplace of merengue).

At the beginning of the 20th century, a movement began to revive the merengue. Famous musicians of that time wanted the merengue to sound again in the salons. For this, the texts accompanying the music had to be rid of vulgar expressions. For a long time, attempts to justify merengue were unsuccessful. The situation changed dramatically in 1930 when Rafael Leonidas Trujillo , the presidential candidate, invited folk orchestras (conjuntos) to perform perico ripiao, a traditional merengue, for his campaign. A large role in the popularization of merengue was played by the spread of radio.

Famous performers of merengue in 1910-1930: Francisco "Nico" Lora (Francisco "Ñico" Lora), Antonio Abreu (Antonio Abreu).

Merengue in the era of Trujillo (1930-1961)

The family of the dictator Trujillo in every possible way contributed to the spread of folk Dominican music. During this period, merengue begins to gradually spread outside the country, due to an increase in the number of radio stations in the Dominican Republic and throughout the Caribbean. It is known that already in the 30s, merengue orchestras arose in Venezuela , Colombia , the USA, and Cuba . At that time, such performers as Alberto Beltrán, Вилngel Viloria, Luis Kalaff, Joseíto Mateo became famous.

Meringue these days

With the fall of the Trujillo dictatorship in 1961, merengue received a new development. The democratization of Dominican society has given musical groups more creative freedom. As a result, merengue melodies have become more diverse and rich. The texts, previously overly politicized, began to move toward more everyday topics. In the 60s, such bands as the “Combo Show” by Johnny Ventura, the orchestras of Cuco Valoy, Felix del Rosario (Félix del Rosario) arose.

In the 70s, in rapidly growing cities - Santo Domingo and New York , the center of Dominican emigration - merengue acquired the status of popular music. The concept of musical groups is also changing, now they are called groups (as opposed to orchestras), the most famous of which are Milly y Los Vecinos, Conjunto Quisqueya, Wilfrido Vargas y Los Beduinos, Los Hijos del Rey.

In the era of the 80s, many foreign musical styles, in particular rock and jazz, influenced Dominican music. This contributed to even greater growth of melodic diversity in the merengue. Meringue arrangers introduce new instruments to the processing ( violin , cello , synthesizer and others). Among the performers become famous Juan Luis Guerra and his orchestra “4.40” (Juan Luis Guerra y 440), Dioni Fernandez (Dioni Fernández), Alex Bueno (Alex Bueno), Ramon Orlando Valoy (Ramón Orlando Valoy), Fernando Villallona (Fernando Villalona), Sergio Vargas, Rubby Pérez, The Rosario Brothers (Los Hermanos Rosario), and among the arrangers are Manuel Tejada.

In the late 80s and early 90s, thanks in large part to the efforts of two musicians, Dominican Jossie Esteban and Puerto Rican Alberto “Ringo” Martinez, the meringue in Puerto Rico grew in popularity. Esteban and Martinez, the founders of La Patrulla 15's own group, have created many new youth groups such as Caña Brava, Zona Roja, Las Nenas de Jossie y Ringo; discovered many young talents - in particular, the popular singers Olga Tanyon and Celinés. The development of the musical genre in both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic is almost parallel. During this period, merengue acquires the status of commercial music - the albums of many artists fall into the music markets of America, Europe and Asia. However, since the mid-90s, the Puerto Rican merengue has undergone significant changes, mainly in the direction of simplifying the rhythm and melodies. In the late 90s, another trend arose - the New York merengue, which was distinguished by even greater primitivism of texts and melodies.

Also in the late 90s in the Dominican Republic and the Dominican communities of New York, the popularity of the folkloric "merengue typical" increased. In 1997, Fulanito, a New York-based band, released the sensational album Guallando, which was a fusion of typical meringue with modern urban rhythms ( rap ).

Music critics believe that since 2000, merengue has been in crisis. The commercialization of merengue caused serious damage to the originality of the genre: many one-day groups filled the market with low-quality albums. Nevertheless, "veterans of the genre", such as Juan Luis Guerra (Juan Luis Guerra), Milli Quesada (Milly Quezada), Josie Esteban, Wilfrido Vargas, continue to work on new albums in the hope of a future revival of merengue.

• Bachata
• Cumbia
• Patchanga
• Reggeton
• Salsa

• Austerlitz, Paul : Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity. - Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1997. - ISBN 1-56639-484-8
• Gómez Sotolongo, Antonio : Los cien músicos del siglo. - Editorial Cañabrava, Santo Domingo, 2000.

• Tambora y Güira (English) (Spanish)