In which country did the dictator Rafael Trujillo promote the merengue style of music/dance into the country's national music?
"is taken from the popular Dominican merengue ""Mataron al chivo"" (""They Killed the Goat""), which refers to Trujillo's assassination on May 30, 1961. Merengue is a style of music created by Ñico Lora in the 1920s and actively promoted by Trujillo himself. It's now considered the country's national music. Cultural critics Julie Sellers and Stephen Ropp comment about this particular merengue that, by envisaging the dictator as an animal who could be turned into a stew (as frequently happened with goats struck down on the Dominican Republic's highways), the song ""gave those performing, listening to, and dancing to this merengue"
"that accompanied it, but with little success. Merengue experienced a sudden elevation of status during dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo's reign from 1930 to 1961. Although he was from the south rather than the Cibao, he did come from a rural area and from a lower-class family, so he decided that the rural style of perico ripiao should be the Dominican national symbol. He ordered numerous merengues to be composed in his honor. With titles like ""Literacy"", ""Trujillo is great and immortal"", and ""Trujillo the great architect"", these songs describe his virtues and extol his contributions to the country. Trujillo's interest"
"in Santiago where the music was played. Moralists tried to ban the music and the provocative dance that accompanied it, but with little success. Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo brought accordionists with him on the campaign trail, and once he took power, he ensured that merengue was embraced as a national music by all classes of Dominicans. The city of Navarrete is the exact origin of merengue tipico; the musician Nicol Lora, a native of the town, introduced it. Official versions promote the three-cultures origin, using the European accordion together with the African tambora and Taino guira. After Trujillo's assassination, Dominican"
"area, in the early 20th century. Artists like Juan F. García, Juan Espínola and Julio Alberto Hernández tried to move merengue into the mainstream, but failed, largely due to social prejudices. Some success occurred after nationalistic feelings arose among the Cibao elite who resented the U.S. occupation of the country from 1916–1924. Legend has it that at this time the faster (merengue típico cibaeño) was slowed down to accommodate American soldiers who couldn't dance the difficult steps of the merengue; this mid-tempo version was called pambiche. Major mainstream acceptance started with Rafael Trujillo's rise to power in the early 1930s."
"national solidarity and political propaganda. It helped his efforts to unify a Dominican identity. After Trujillo's assassination in 1961, the merengue orquesta underwent great change. During that decade, Johnny Ventura's Combo Show drove crowds wild with their showy choreography, slimmed-down brass section, and salsa influences. In the 1970s, Wilfrido Vargas sped up the tempo and incorporated influences from disco and rock. (The term ""orquesta,"" simply meaning a large musical ensemble, is now used to describe the pop merengue groups based on Ventura's and Vargas's models as well as the older Alberti style.) In addition, a new rhythm called ""merengue a"
"of the Dominican Republic, the birthplace of the merengue and where almost all merengue tipico musicians hail from. Fefita taught herself accordion on her father's Accordion and was already playing concerts for people as respected as Petan Trujillo (Dictator Rafael Trujillo's brother), and appearing frequently on television and radio shows, as early as the age of 9. Taveras had a unique style of playing merengue tipico, a kind that only she was able to produce. Along with the early exponents of ""new"" merengue tipico, such as Tatico Henriquez, Samuelito Almonte, and El Ciego de Nagua, she added congas, saxophones, and"
"Juan. Musically, the Dominican Republic is known for the world popular musical style and genre called ""merengue"", a type of lively, fast-paced rhythm and dance music consisting of a tempo of about 120 to 160 beats per minute (though it varies) based on musical elements like drums, brass, chorded instruments, and accordion, as well as some elements unique to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, such as the ""tambora"" and ""güira"". Its syncopated beats use Latin percussion, brass instruments, bass, and piano or keyboard. Between 1937 and 1950 merengue music was promoted internationally by Dominican groups like Billo's Caracas Boys, Chapuseaux and Damiron"
"bandleaders like Rafael Petiton Guzman, beginning in the 1930s, and Angel Viloria y su Conjunto Típico Cibaeño in the 1950s. It was during the Trujillo era that the merengue ""Compadre Pedro Juan"", by Luis Alberti, became an international hit and standardized the 2-part form of the merengue. Internationally known merengue singers and groups include Fernando Villalona, Juan Luis Guerra, Carlos Manuel El Zafiro, Eddy Herrera, Toño Rosario, Los Hermanos Rosario, Los Toros Band, Sergio Vargas, Wilfrido Vargas, Johnny Ventura, Bonny Cepeda, Grupo Rana, Miriam Cruz & Las Chicas Del Can, Joseito Mateo, Luis Ovalles, the aforementioned Angel Viloria, El Cieguito"
"Dominican Republic is known for the creation of the musical style called ""merengue"", a type of lively, fast-paced rhythm and dance music consisting of a tempo of about 120 to 160 beats per minute (it varies wildly) based on musical elements like drums, brass, and chorded instruments, as well as some elements unique to the music style of the DR. It includes the use of the ""tambora"" (Dominican drum), accordion, and ""güira"". Its syncopated beats use Latin percussion, brass instruments, bass, and piano or keyboard. Between 1937 and 1950 the merengue music was promoted internationally, by some Dominicans groups like,"
"in and encouragement of merengue helped create a place for the music on the radio and in respectable ballrooms. Luis Alberti and other musicians began to play with ""big band"" or orquesta instrumentation, replacing the accordion with a horn section and initiating a split between this new, mostly urban style and mostly rural perico ripiao. New York City Latino radio is still dominated by orquesta merengue. Following his election, Trujillo ordered musicians to compose and perform numerous merengues extolling his supposed virtues and attractiveness to women. Luis Alberti and other popular bandleaders created a style of merengue more acceptable to"
"Puerto Rico where he was well received. One of the movements of this dance is called ""merengue"" which apparently is the way selected to call the dance, and came to the Dominican Republic where he evolved into the genre of merengue. However, the Cuban UPA is also a dance whose origin appears to be in West Africa. In fact, in early ls, despite its rise among the masses, the upper class did not accept the merengue for long, because apparently, their connection with African music. Another cause that weighed on the repudiation and attacks the merengue were literary texts that"
"Grande, El Ciego de Nagua, and Rafaelito Román. More modern merengues incorporate electric instruments and influences from salsa, and rock and roll. Choruses are often sung in a call and response form by two or three back-up singers, or more traditionally, by the musicians playing tambora or güira. Beginning in the 1960s, dancing became a part of the singers' work with Johnny Ventura's Combo Show format, and is now a staple of many of the genre's biggest stars. Lyrically, irony and double entendres are common Merengue continued to be limited in popularity to the lower classes, especially in the Cibao"
"groups mentor. Today Vargas is one of the best-known artists in Latin America with hit songs such as ""El Africano"" (written by Calixto Ochoa), ""Abusadora"", ""Comején"", ""A Mover la Colita"", ""El Baile del Perrito"" and ""Volveré"". As of 2010, he lives in Colombia. Wilfrido Vargas Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez (; born April 24, 1949 in Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) is a bandleader, trumpeter, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer who was instrumental in making the merengue style a worldwide phenomenon. He was surrounded by musical influences; namely, his father Ramón, an accordionist and guitarist, and his mother Bienvenida, a flute"
"of the music can be found in the Dominican National Symphony's presentation in 2003 of a concert series entitled ""Symphonic Merengue"", in which the Symphonic Orchestra consisting of woodwinds, brass, strings, and the like played popular tunes. Merengue music found mainstream exposure in other areas of Latin America in the 1970s and 80s, with its peak in the 1990s. In the Southern Cone Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, merengue dance lost the characteristic of being danced close together, instead being danced separately while moving the arms. Merengue, from its conception and through time, has classically been a male-dominated genre. In recent"
"refused to accept him. The soon-to-be dictator must also have realized the symbolic power of the rural folk music and its potential for creating support among the masses, since he took accordionists with him around the Republic during his campaign tours from the very beginning. Up until the 1930s, the music was considered to be ""immoral"" by the general population. Its more descriptive and colorful name, perico ripiao (literally ""ripped parrot"" in Spanish) was said to have been the name of a brothel in Santiago where the music was played. Moralists tried to ban merengue music and the provocative dance"
"Méringue Méringue (; ), also called méringue lente or méringue de salon (""slow"" or ""salon"" méringue), is a dance music and national symbol in Haiti. It is a string-based style played on the lute, guitar, and other string instruments unlike the primarily accordion-based ""merengue"", and is generally sung in Haitian Creole and French, as well as in English and Spanish. Méringue was heavily influenced by the contredanse from Europe and then by Afro-Caribbean influences from Hispaniola. The blend of African and European cultures has created popular dance music, music played on simple acoustic instruments by artists who don't need theaters"
"waltz, but in duple rather than ternary rhythm). According to local chroniclers, in 1845 a ship arrived from Havana, bearing, among other things, a party of youths who popularized a new style of contradanza/danza, confusingly called ""merengue."" This style subsequently became wildly popular in Puerto Rico, to the extent that in 1848 it was banned by the priggish Spanish governor Juan de la Pezuela. This prohibition, however, does not seem to have had much lasting effect, and the newly invigorated genre—now more commonly referred to as ""danza""—went on to flourish in distinctly local forms. As in Cuba, these forms included"
"the United States and many other countries. Merengue first appears in the Caribbean in the 1850s. The earliest documented evidence of merengue in the Dominican Republic are newspaper articles complaining about this ""lascivious"" dance's displacement of the earlier ""tumba."" Early merengue was played on stringed instruments, but the accordion came to the island in the 1880s, introduced by German traders, and quickly became the primary instrument in merengue. Up until the 1930s, the music was considered immoral. Its more descriptive and colorful name, ""perico ripiao"" (literally ""ripped parrot"" in Spanish) is said to have been the name of a bordello"
"Quezada, and Chichí Peralta. Merengue became popular in the United States, mostly on the East Coast, during the 1980s and 1990s, when many Dominican artists, among them Victor Roque y La Gran Manzana, Henry Hierro, Zacarias Ferreira, Aventura, and Milly Jocelyn Y Los Vecinos, residing in the U.S. (particularly New York) started performing in the Latin club scene and gained radio airplay. The emergence of ""bachata"", along with an increase in the number of Dominicans living among other Latino groups in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Massachusetts contributed to Dominican music's overall growth in popularity. Bachata, a form of"
"Dominican salsa The Dominican Republic is widely known around the world as the Caribbean island where Merengue and Bachata music takes its current shape. Merengue and Bachata have been fueled by the cultural roots of the Dominican Republic and have in many ways shaped the Dominican economy. Johnny Pacheco was born in the Dominican Republic; he created Fania Records with Jerry Masucci in 1964 and was a major promoter of salsa music from New York City. Dominican artists played salsa in NYC and around the world. Dominican salsero/sonero, Cuco Valoy is known as ""El Brujo"" (the sorcerer) and as a"
"with electric guitars or synthesizers, or occasionally sampled, and the saxophone's role totally redefined. In spite of the changes, merengue remained the most popular form of music in the Dominican Republic. Ventura, for example, was so adulated that he became a massively popular and influential politician on his return from a time in the United States, and was seen as a national symbol. The 1980s saw increasing Dominican emigration to Europe and the United States, especially to New York City and Miami. Merengue came with them, bringing images of glitzy pop singers and idols. At the same time, Juan Luis"
"the DR. Paseo was a slow introduction to a merengue song during which couples would promenade around the dance floor in stately fashion. Orquesta or big band merengue became the merengue of choice for the urban Dominican middle and upper classes in the twentieth century. Although merengue had been played in upper class salons as early as the 1850s, moralists like then-president Ulises Espaillat succeeded in banning the dance from such locations only two decades later, causing the merengue to effectively die out in the cities. Still, it was kept alive by rural musicians such as accordionist/composer Nico Lora, and"
"merengue classics. Las Chicas Del Can had tremendous success receiving platinum records and gold records and made extensive tours around the world and europe, including Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, the United States, Holland and others. The dance ""Juana La Cubana"" was popularized by the eternal Juana the Cuban Teresa Dominguez, who with her charisma and dance captivated the whole world, the disc Juana la cubana received a platinum record in Venezuela in 1988 for 100,000 thousand copies sold and another more for the song of 50,000 copies combining it in one of his most recognized works in the"
"Venezolano"". Perhaps the best hope for the preservation of the form lies in the labor of active musicians that continue to compose, perform and teach merengue in other countries. Guitarist Aquiles Báez, multi-instrumentalist and educator Jackeline Rago, Canadian-based Ensemble Çavana, and the aforementioned Barradas and Gurrufío all are active practitioners of Venezuelan music worldwide. Venezuelan merengue Merengue is a musical form extended through all the Caribbean. The first occurrences of merengue in print in Venezuela are from scores of “dance merengue” of the second half of the 19th century. As a dance craze, merengue acquired popularity in Caracas during the"
"known as Milly Jocelyn & Los Vecinos. Their music would identify the growing Hispanic Community of Dominicans in Washington Heights and their distinctly feminist style of Merengue captured the hearts and imagination of the growing Hispanic Community. Hits that would rise in popularity during the ‘70s 80’s and 90’s include “Volvio Juanita,” “La Guacherna,” “Tengo,” and many other songs that would go on to become Christmas hits on national and international music platforms. Led by her oldest brother and musical arranger, Rafael Quezada, the “Queen of Merengue” along with the group would travel worldwide and become pioneers in the female-led"
"lo maco"" appeared and was popularized by groups including Los Hermanos Rosario and Cheche Abreu. Far less complicated than other merengue rhythms, it was particularly useful for adapting songs from other styles like bachata, Colombian vallenato, Mexican rancheras, and North American pop. This process of remaking is called fusilamiento and continues to be a source for many merengue hits to this day. Merengue has been heard in New York since the 1930s, when Eduardo Brito became the first to sing the Dominican national music there before going on to tour Spain. Salcedo-born, Juilliard-educated Rafael Petitón Guzmán formed the first Dominican-led"
"""Los Reyes del Merengue,"" Joseito Mateo, and others. Radio, television, and international media popularized it further. Some well known merengue performers are Wilfrido Vargas, Johnny Ventura, singer-songwriter Los Hermanos Rosario, Juan Luis Guerra, Fernando Villalona, Eddy Herrera, Sergio Vargas, Toño Rosario, Milly Quezada, and Chichí Peralta. Merengue became popular in the United States, mostly on the East Coast, during the 1980s and 1990s, when many Dominican artists residing in the U.S. (particularly New York) started performing in the Latin club scene and gained radio airplay. They included Victor Roque y La Gran Manzana, Henry Hierro, Zacarias Ferreira, Aventura, and Milly"
"a matter of national pride under the government of Juan Perón. Tango declined again in the 1950s with economic recession and the banning of public gatherings by the military dictatorships. It should be noted that male-only Tango dancers used to practice among themselves for up to 3 years prior to their debut (going to a public Milonga (place)), and that practice fell under the prohibition of public gatherings. One of the results was that rock and roll became more popular because it did not require males' gatherings. The dance lived on in smaller venues until its revival in the 1980s"
"Latin America. In Mexico, for example, canción yucateca on the Yucatán Peninsula and trova serrana in the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca are both regional adaptations of trova. Today, Guatemalan Ricardo Arjona qualifies as Latin America's most commercially successful singer-songwriter. Although sociopolitical engagement is uneven in his oeuvre, some see Arjona's more engaged works as placing him in the tradition of the Italian ""cantautori"". In the mid-1970s, a singer-songwriter tradition called canto popular emerged in Uruguay. With the influence of Tropicalismo, Traditional Samba and Bossa Nova, MPB (Música popular brasileira), or Brazilian Popular Music, became highly singer-songwriter based. For years solo artists"
"it began to reappear in towns of the Cibao during the 1910s. During that decade, several composers, including Julio Alberto Hernández, Juan Espínola of La Vega and Juan Francisco García of Santiago, tried to resuscitate the dance by creating orchestrated, written scores based on folk merengue melodies. One of these was García's 1918 work titled ""Ecos del Cibao."" Composer Luis Alberti later reported that such pieces, especially the famous tune known as the Juangomero, were frequently played at the end of an evening's program that otherwise featured imported styles like waltzes, mazurkas, polkas, danzas, danzones, and one- and two-steps. While"
"government as the ""National Capital Marinera"" by Law Number 24447, of January 24, 1986. Trujillo is home to the marinera national competition each year. It is a typical dance of the city, organized by the Trujillo Club Libertad and it is performed in the last week of January. Many dance partners from different parts of the country and foreign guests come to the contest every year to compete in the categories of the competition that draws thousands of tourists from around the world. It also highlights the corso through the main streets of the Historic Centre that ends in main"
"Puerto Rican danza had evolved into a form quite distinct from that of its Cuban (not to mention European) counterparts. Particularly distinctive was its form consisting of an initial ""paseo"", followed by two or three sections (sometimes called ""merengues""), which might feature an arpeggio-laden ""obbligato"" melody played on the tuba-like ""bombardino"" (euphonium). Many danzas achieved island-wide popularity, including the piece ""La Borinqueña"", which is the national anthem of Puerto Rico. Like other Caribbean creole genres such as the Cuban danzón, the danzas featured the insistent ostinato called ""cinquillo"" (roughly, ONE-two-THREE-FOUR-five-SIX-SEVEN-eight, repeated). The danza remained vital until the 1920s, but after"
"– having to content themselves instead with gigs in bars and brothels in the country's poorest neighborhoods. The music was influenced by its surroundings; sex, despair and crime were amongst numerous topics the genre highlighted. This only furthered the cause of those seeking to tar bachata as a music of the barrios. Despite its unofficial censorship, bachata remained widely popular, while orchestral merengue benefited from the country's major publicity outlets. However, bachata continued to outsell merengue . Some bachateros to emerge from this era were Marino Perez and Leonardo Paniagua. By the early 1980s, bachata's popularity could not be denied."