Creolization in Spanish Music

 The textbook 'Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean' outlines a few examples of creolization in Spanish Caribbean music. 

One model Gangelhoff gives in the Spanish section 3 video is the bachata melodic style. This style started in the Dominican Republic. Bachata is a melodic class gotten from mixing the cadenced bolero with other Afro-Antillean sorts like child, cha-cha-chá, and merengue. Bachata instrumentation developed from exemplary bachata's nylon string Spanish guitar and maracas to current bachata's electric steel-string and guira. The development of metropolitan bachata styles by groups like Monchy y Alexandra and Aventura further changed bachata in the twenty-first century. The ordinary bachata bunch comprises of seven instruments, which are: requinto (lead guitar), segunda (cadenced off-timing guitar), electric guitar, guitar, bass, bongos and guira.

 Here is a photo of Dominican, Jose Manuel Calderon, who recorded the first Bachata song, “Borracho de amor” in 1962.

Photo taken from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.conectate-ne

Here is a video of a tune - "Por ti" by Dominican Eladio Romero Santos - which falls under the bachata melodic kind. Santos' vocals express profound, instinctive sensations of affection, energy and wistfulness which is a typical component of bachata verses. You can likewise hear the interesting sound of the guitar-based arpeggiated picking that Gangelhoff makes reference to.

Video taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqMz2GDwR0M

An additional example of creolization in the music of the Spanish Caribbean is Cuba's official musical genre, the danzón. According to theclassicjournal.uga.edu the danzón, which derived from the English Country Dance, spread across Europe before being introduced to Cuba through Spanish and French imperialism. Through its early stages, the danzón evolved a distinctive style that blended the traits of several nationalities such as African isorhythms and European melodic phrasing. 

Here is a photo of Cuban musician Miguel Faílde who is considered the author or originator of the dazón genre. 

Photo taken from: https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.72021842ca3f924859a576d0093ae3

Here is a video of Faílde's first danzón piece “Las Alturas de Simpson,”  You can hear the slow tempo, mixture of cinquillo and tresillo rhythmic patterns. Charanga instrumentation comprised of a string section (violins, a cello, and a double bass), a flute, timbales, and a güíro. The characteristics of “Las Alturas de Simpson” became distinctive for all danzón songs: a cinquillo rhythm in the melody and bass line, and a rondo structure (ABACA). 

Video taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKIc3nX3igE

References 

Gangelhoff, C., & LeGrand, C. (2019, December 31). Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of The Caribbean. Sound Caribbean.

Hill, C. V. (2019). CHAPTER ONE ZAPATEADOS: TRACING THE DIASPORA OF AFRICAN DERIVED DRUM DANCE FORMS IN THE NEW WORLD. Transatlantic Malagueñas and Zapateados in Music, Song and Dance: Spaniards, Natives, Africans, Roma, 2.

MacManus, K., Tate, S., & Henry, M. (2019). Danzón De Cuba: Music and Dancing. The Classic Journal.