Puerto Rican music
| Music of Puerto Rico | |
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A (c. 1900 - 1915) Puerto Rican Cuatro
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| General topics | |
| Related articles | |
| Genres | |
| Nationalistic and patriotic songs | |
| National anthem | La Borinqueña |
| Regional music | |
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 You may listen to Graciela Rivera's interpretation of Fernández Juncos' version of "La Borinqueña"" here. |
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You may listen to Luciano Quiñones piano interpretation of Tavárez's "Margarita"here
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You may listen to Luciano Quiñones piano interpretation of Morel Campos' "No me toques" here
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You may listen to José Feliciano's "Light My Fire" here. |
The music of Puerto Rico has evolved as a heterogeneous and dynamic product of diverse cultural resources. The most conspicuous musical sources have been Spain and West Africa, although many aspects of Puerto Rican music reflect origins elsewhere in Europe and the Caribbean and, in the last century, the USA. Puerto Rican music culture today comprises a wide and rich variety of genres, ranging from essentially indigenous genres like bomba to recent hybrids like reggaeton. Broadly conceived, the realm of "Puerto Rican music" should naturally comprise the music culture of the millions of people of Puerto Rican descent who have lived in the USA, and especially in New York City. Their music, from salsa to the boleros of Rafael Hernández, cannot be separated from the music culture of Puerto Rico itself. Nevertheless, this entry will emphasize music culture as it has flourished on the island; readers should naturally consult other entries for genres like salsa (most commonly thought of).
Music culture in Puerto Rico during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries is poorly documented. Certainly it included Spanish church music, military band music, and diverse genres of dance music cultivated by the jíbaros (peasants, of mixed race) and enslaved Africans and their descendants. While these later never constituted more than 11% of the island's population, they contributed some of the island's most dynamic musical features becoming distinct indeed.
In the 19th century Puerto Rican music begins to emerge into historical daylight, with notated genres like danza being naturally better documented than folk genres like jíbaro music and bomba y plena.
The African people of the island used drums made of carved harwood covered with an untreated rawhide on one side, commonly made from goatskin. A popular word derived from creole to design this drum was shukbwa, that literally means 'trunk of tree'
If the term "folk music" is taken to mean music genres that have flourished without elite support, and have evolved independently of the commercial mass media, the realm of Puerto Rican folk music would comprise the primarily Hispanic-derived jíbaro music, the Afro-Puerto Rican bomba, and the essentially "creole" plena. As these three genres evolved in Puerto Rico and are unique to that island, they occupy a respected place in island culture, even if they are not currently as popular as contemporary musics like salsa or reggaeton.
Jibaros are small farmers of primarily Hispanic descent—constituted the overwhelming majority of the Puerto Rican population until the mid-twentieth century. They are traditionally recognized as romantic icons of land cultivation, hard work and self-sufficiency, hospitality, and love of song and dance.{{}} Their instruments were relatives of the Spanish vihuela, especially the cuatro—which evolved from four single strings to five pairs—and the lesser known tiple. A typical jíbaro group nowadays might feature a cuatro, guitar, and percussion instrument such as the güiro scraper and/or bongo. Lyrics to jíbaro music are generally in the décima form, consisting of ten octosyllabic lines in the rhyme scheme abba, accddc. Décima form derives from 16th-century Spain. Although it has largely died out in that country (except the Canaries), it took root in various places in Latin America—especially Cuba and Puerto Rico—where it is sung in diverse styles. A sung décima might be pre-composed, derived from a publication by some literati, or ideally, improvised on the spot, especially in the form of a “controversia” in which two singer-poets trade witty insults or argue on some topic. In between the décimas, lively improvisations can be played on the cuatro. This music form is also known as "Tipica" as well as "Tropica".
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Wikipedia