The soul is to blacks what salsa is to Latinos; both words connote reinterpretations of Latino popular culture and musical styles that have been redefined in New York city. According to scholars, the Cuban forms have become prominent in Puerto Rico and are thought to be the foundation for salsa. The Cuban styles that had been common in numerous nightclubs and uptown dance halls began to spread in a sizable population in New York. In the 1940s, a group of Afro-Cubans and Machito's began playing with one of the uptown bands. The group composed of people like Bauza Mario who had worked with various black swing bands and had experience of years as a jazz trumpeter. He went ahead to integrate black jazz band with full Afro-Cuban rhythm section after using compositional concepts of the expanded role and size of the Latin horn section. Hence, the creation of a distinctly new york Latin sound between Latin music and jazz was as a result of a growing relationship brought about by Machito’s group (McMains,2009).
In relation to the above, there was the formation of two highly influential Puerto Rican bandleaders in the late forties. Machito, Rodriquez Tito together with Tito Puente, created the mambo craze of the fifties and went ahead to elaborate on the mambo form. Cuban charanga orchestras were realized by cha cha cha cba, this is presumed to be the second hit in New York, and it comprised of one fluke backed by a rhythm section and several violins. The big bands in New York also adopted the hit and it has said to have a dance fad that lasted through the fifties and even reached out to the non-Latino audience. On top of the popular Cuban artists that came to perform in New York, their bands mainly consisted of New York Puerto Ricans. These bands expanded their training ground for the young New York Puerto Rican musicians with the help of the New York musicians they had hired to back them up together with their charts. Hence, the late sixties salsa was developed out of the above training which created a foundation (Renta, 2004).
Since the second Cuban migration of the 1960’s, Cuban workers have brought with them an array of rich cultural and influential diversity. That influence is seen throughout New York, Louisiana and Florida in the forms of music, art, and culinary works. New York in the 1960’s became an epicenter of Salsa and afro-Cuban music that brought big names such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz.
Refugees from the 1960's and 1970's were largely made up of the upper and middle-class workers. Cuban immigrants brought with them a large set of technical skills that gave the Cubans an advantage in the United States with the help of government aid programs.
New York has become the highest concentration of Cuban immigrants, although they people are found in almost every state. Although EL Barrio is no longer the largest community, it was the first major Puerto Rican community in New York. There was the formation of hometown social clubs in the early fifties by people who had come from the same island. Clubs like the ponce, and Lares, were named after the hometowns of these people and were intended to replicate the environment of hometown. These clubs provided a forum for discussion of the problems that affected these immigrants, helped them in adapting to the life of the city and was useful in helping them cope with the alien environment. Moreover, the clubs were decorated with photographs from home, memorabilia, and artifacts and these were in places converted from factory lofts. In these places, families could come together to interact like the way they used to in their former homes and these places are said to have characterized musical performances which helped in aiding the creation of a sense of the home town and for purposes of providing entertainment.
Some Cubans managed to dodge the American quota system, although the migrants to New York never reached a bigger number. The government of United States developed laws that were stringent and acted as a primary factor in stopping the immigrants who wanted to come to New York. The issues of racism, semiskilled labor and urban unskilled were part of the economic problems that forced the Cuban to migrate to New York. A fundamental number of African slaves that had been taken to Cuba by the Spanish had worsened the economic situation. The socioeconomic differences were based on racial lines and the black people were found to be at the bottom of the social ladder. Hence, some of the black Cubans ended up in the US before the 1959 revolution and these ended up luring other Cubans into New York (Scott, 2006).
After the revolution, the immigration patterns changed because of relaxation in the laws. Most of the Cuban immigrants were black by the year 1959 and these formed the lower classes of the social ladder. In addition, after 1959, the (Cubans) white and black continued to flock the US and most of these people came from the upper and middle socioeconomic ladder. These two groups of social ladder comprised of professionals, intellectuals, and businesspersons. Other people who migrated to New York in big numbers included Hispanic and these are said to have created various societies. These immigrants of different social strata came with different unique cultures that were integrated into the people of New York and this was categorized into the following;
The interaction between the Cuban music scenes and New York created a basis for musical development that was parallel not until there was a cessation of diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1962. The Cuban musical forms started to spread to a different direction of New York that was later defined as the phenomenon of the state. There is a discussion of two general tendencies and described the relationship between the black societies in New York and those of the Cuban population. In addition, there was a big population of bilingual second general of Cubans whose ties were both to New York and the island and this took place in the late sixties. The interactions between the Cuban immigrants and the blacks was fueled by participation in many of the recreational and educational centers and supported by the overlapping of community boundaries.
The cultural manifestations, success, and strength of the black identity movement had a significant effect on the young Cubans. Boogalno a dance and black musical form became popular in the mid-1960s and was interpreted as Latin bugalu and adapted by the Cuban immigrants. This kind of music used a trap drum set, guiro, campana, bongos, timbales, congas, bass, piano, and horns which were standard salsa instruments. The lyrics that characterized black music were sung both in English and Spanish these composed of a rhythmic structure that was changed to permit the fourth and second back beats. Due to the attempt of expanding the music industry of theLatin audience, the Latinbugalu wanted to break away and it’s believed that the correlation between the black and Latin music was not motivated by economic factors.Hence, to the Cuban immigrants who had grown up in New York listening to black and Latin music, the former was considered to be a good source of musical ideas that were new. However, it did not measure to the Cuban music that existed before 1960 in New York and people thought that this traditional music was popular and better (Somdahl, 2007).
In relation to the above assertion, there was the introduction of plena and bomba into the conjunto format and this was done by vocalist Rivera ad Cortijo Rafael in the year 1957. Dominican merengue was not adapted to the conjunto instrumentation until the 1960s, although it had gained some popularity in 1950s. At this stage, there was a presentation of a popular music cumbia under the rubric of salsa and other forms of the Cuban jibaro and Colombian cumbia music were adapted. Hence, salsa is looked at as a form of musical expression that is related to various Cuban people and other American who are found in New York City.
There was the establishment of religious centers in New York by the migrations of Cubans before and after the revolution. In the city, Santeria became popular because of lucumi and this lead to the development of religious centers known as the multi ethnic character of the city. The membership comprised of Latino groups, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and black and white NorthAmericans. In the Santeria, music became a central organizing tool of different ceremonies in the city for example Eya Aranla and Igbodu became different events which were meant for distinct tasks. Igbodu was used for setting up a liturgical sequence of the rhythms called oru dellgbodu and meant for paying homage to the pantheon of orishas. In addition, members stand in silent reverence while the above practice is performed on the bata which is composed of an hour glass and double headed in shape sized instruments and they are three in number. Furthermore, with one had on each membrane, they are held horizontally. Identifying rhythms is carried out by biggest drum iya which communicates directly with orishas. This is followed by the second largest drum that enters into a linguistic conversation between itotele and iya (Pietrobruno, 2006).
This concept is used to describe the dance forms and the generic term for the Cuban-African musical group. Dance elements, musical, Spanish and African linguistic is reflected by the distinct degree of syncretism. This kind of practice is instrumental when it comes to social and political events that affect the life of the society and this is said to have been in existence since slavery times and it’s useful in terms of commentary. This practice is comprised of the most popular concepts and these are Columbia and guaguanco which form three drums for example Tumba, Segundo, and Quinto. The tumba and Segundo when applied help in the provision of support to the structure of rhythmics and this is through patterns, which are interlocking (Skinner, 2007).
Another influence of salsa music on New York became crucial when the Cuban son groups and septeto style were used in popular Puerto Rican musicians. Some experts like Rodriquez Arsenio expanded the concept of the son to reemphasize and reincorporate countryside African drivenelements that had simplified and omitted by the septet nacional and sextet Habanero. This was done with the help of two European group trends that were initiated. In the process of maintaining the integrity of Europeans and African musical elements, Arsenio attained a synthesis. A piano, a second trumpet, a conga drum and a campana were added by Arsenio as means of instrumentation. The rationale was that Arsenjo wanted to integrate the interlocking rhymes and tumba or ostinato patterns that produced conga and the bass.Furthermore, musical breaks and horn structural arrangements comprised of a rhythm section which was responsible for expanding the accompaniment instruments and achievement of a melodic rhythmic unity that was based on the clave. Arsenio's Son had a special interpretation for his audience and this was in form of skills that were demonstrated by trumpet players and pianists. Hence, he used texts that were philosophical in the expression of sentiments towards racial pride, community life, and the Cuban immigrants despite the fact that his messages dealt in traditional romantic themes.
In reference to the above, the creation of mambo and its introduction into dancing halls in the year 1937 was one of the major innovations of Arsenio. This style was performed with help of conjunto-son instruments and the sound that came from them was popular among the people of New York City.In continuation, mambo to the big band sound was adopted by Tito Rodriquez, Tito Puente, and Machito in the 1950s.Later on in the 1960s, salsa musicians were reinterpreted as many of the of composition and sound of Arsenio’s conjunto.
This was another piece of culture that the Cuban immigrants were associated with and it included incorporating Europeans and African musical elements. This kind of culture was associated with the underworld and nightlife despite the fact that it started as street music, and moved into night clubs and bars. The white associated this kind of style with slumming, although the performance of plena was done by both the black and white musicians. Moreover, black plena were associated with the heritage of musical forms and it is believed to be a couple dances. However, the bomb is not an integral part of the event and yet it characterizes interactive competition between the dancer and the drummer. During the process of plena ensemble, a number of instruments are used in different combinations.For example, Montanez in Elasfacon de la 102 uses supporting drums and frame drums or four panderetas for purposes of providing patterns that are fixed and interlocking. The fourth drum is used in playing passages that are extended and rhythmic in terms of structure and portions of the message.
The plena ensemble has been added to conga drums by Montanez to improve on the Seguidoras sound and this happens through an indispensable part of fixing and playing a rhythm. The process also characterizes solo performance to demonstrate player's skills, melodic embellishment of the verse or refrain, melodic unison with the refrain, contrapuntal accompaniment to the verse and melodic introduction of the vocal refrain in the people new york. Plena and bomba have gone through a transformation in the New York City whereby they are used in nightclubs and informal social gatherings among others. Bomba and plena have reached covered a bigger area of influence in the city through the music industry and their content is being reinterpreted in the small group format or salsa conjunto.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Cuban immigrants brought with them a large set of technical skills that gave the Cubans an advantage in the United States with the help of government aid programs. This was felt through their different cultures in music that they displayed over a period of time as being discussed above. Moreover, the Cuban immigrants comprised of Refugees from the 1960's and 1970's, which were largely made up of the upper and middle-class workers.
References
McMains, J.2009. Dancing Latin/ Latin Dancing salsa and Dance Sport. in ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy Sham, Shake: A social and popular Dance Reader, ed.j. Malnig, Chicago: university of illonis press.302-322.
Pietrobruno, S.2006. Salsa and its transitional moves. New York: Lexington Books
Renta, P.2004.Salsa Dance: Latino/a history in Motion. Centro jorunal 16(2):138-157
Scott, A.2006. spectacle and dancing bodies that matter:or if it dont fit, Dont force it. In meaning in motion: New cultural studies of Dance, ed.J.Desmond, Durham: Duke university press.259-268.
Skinner, J.2007. The salsa class: A complexity of Globalisation, cosmopolitans and Emotions. Identities: Global studies in culture and power14:485-506
Somdahl, K.C.2007. Dancing in Place: The radical production of civic spaces.PhD Diss., The univesity of Texas at Austin.
We will email this sample to you with pleasure!
Type your email