Creolization Spanish- Speaking Caribbean

 Spanish Colonization

With the arrival of Europeans in the Caribbean, a world history of great importance for both the Caribbean and Europe begins. One of the great colonial systems, the Spanish, which was the oldest and most extensive; was implanted as a result of the voyages of Christopher Columbus at the beginning of the 16th century.

In this century, the Spanish occupied the Greater Antilles

• Jamaica
• Hispaniola
• Cuba
• Puerto Rico

In the seventeenth century the other European powers, England occupied Jamaica and France occupied the western part of Hispaniola, remaining under Spanish domination:

• Cuba
• Puerto Rico
• Dominican Republic  (eastern part of Hispaniola)

The Spanish conquistadors plundered the Indian populations of these countries and forced them to work as enslaved people, but from that moment begins the mixture of indigenous and Spanish cultures. After nearly exterminating the Indians, the Spanish brought slaves from Africa to do the jobs the Indians had done. By bringing the slaves to the Caribbean, the following cultural mixture is produced, which results in the cultural diversity of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. Below we show two examples of creolization in these Caribbean islands.

1- Puerto Rico

In the article " Puerto Rico" Thompson, 2001 presents the instruments of Puerto Rico. Many of these instruments originating in Puerto Rico are percussion instruments and have been inherited from the culture of the Tainos.

The following figure shows some of the typical instruments of Puerto Rico, used in the Puerto Rican genres bomba and plena such as:

• Goat-skin barrel drums
• Buleador (low drum)
• Subidor or Primo (high drum)
• Maracas
• Cuá, or stick drum
• Guiro
• Tambourines

Source: (Renaissance of Bomba & Plena Part 2: Bomba Origins, 2018)

 

Bomba - Puerto Rico.

Bomba is both a traditional dance and musical style of Puerto Rico. Its origins are rooted in the island's history of African slavery. Bomba is a creative and interactive relationship between dancers, percussionists, and singers.

The oldest genre in Puerto Rico, almost 500 years ago, arrived in different regions such as Loíza, Santurce, Mayagüez y Ponce.

Its instruments are:

• Two barrels - African heritage
• Buleador drum - where the beats of the bomba are executed. 
• There are about 19 styles but there are five that are the most popular in Puerto Rico
• Cousin or uploader drum - This drum marks the steps of the dancer or bailadora.

• One maraca - Taino heritage
• The cua that are the sticks - Taino heritage

 The bomba also includes the dance - Spain heritage

Source: (KQED Arts, 2020)

The video shows the execution of the Puerto Rican bomb, in which you can see the dancer who does not follow a choreography but dances freely to the rhythm of the primo drum. During the interpretation, the singer is heard and the use of the typical instruments of this genre, the maracas, the two drums, and the wedge or sticks, can be observed. In this genre, you can also hear the call-response between the singer and the choir.

2 - Cuba

Rumba

According to the writings of Daniel, 1996 Rumba is synonymous with the party, in it music and dance are combined, where contributions from the African heritage and the Spanish heritage coincide. In this genre, versification is used in quatrains or tenths and the form of imposition of the voice.

The singers join the players; in the solo-choir form, they present the theme or subject of the rumba; meanwhile, the dancers develop choreographies in which different situations such as courtship, the approach of the couple, and the virtuosity of the dancers are represented.

In the image, you can see the Callejon de Hammel, in Havana a place of cultural development where a group of people gathered to observe the interpretation of the rumba. A woman dances in typical clothes of the African religion.

The music combines percussion and singing, and the dance flows during the sound of drums and singing. This dance is derived from the most beautiful traditional dances of Africa.

Source: (Bell, 2017)

Son

In the video presented below, you can see a performance by the Cuban musician Adalberto Alvarez known as the king of the son.

This song transmits an ancient culture that was born in Africa and moved to the Caribbean, specifically to Cuba where the son is created. I chose this video because it is a son classic in Cuban music. For many Cubans, it is a hymn, the Cuban cultural identity, its idiosyncrasy, and the Cuban religious syncretism.

Source: (BIS Music, 2015)

This video is a sample of the creolization in Cuba, in which you can listen to the mixture of a great variety of musical instruments from the different cultures that make up Cuban music and this genre. Among them:

• Piano
• Double bass
• Trumpets
• Guiro
• Kettledrums

 

References

Bell, L. (2017, August 4). Rumba in Cuba. Nationalgeographic.co.uk. https://static.nationalgeographic.co.uk/files/styles/image_3200/public/rumba-cuba-3.png.webp?w=710&h=471

BIS Music. (2015, March 5). Adalberto Álvarez y su Son - Y qué tú quieres que te den? (Video Oficial). Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24lHSU35Aqs

Daniel, Y. (1996). Rumba: dance and social change in contemporary Cuba. Indiana Univ. Press.

KQED Arts. (2020). Puerto Rico’s Bomba, A Dance of The African Diaspora | KQED Arts [YouTube Video]. On YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0vzkGKEWX4

Renaissance of Bomba & Plena Part 2: Bomba Origins. (2018, August 31). Latino Music Cafe. https://latinomusiccafe.com/2018/08/31/renaissance-of-bomba-plena-part-2-bomba-origins/

Thompson, D. (2001). Puerto Rico. Oxford Music Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.41092