Well when this paper was assigned some suggestions were made and I choose Latin Music. I choose Latin Music, because being half Cuban; I saw an opportunity to get better known with my ancestors. Ways I thought would help, were to better learn hablo espanol, and learn to dance the to the rhythm of the music. So when the chance came for me to learn more about music from my father's families past. So I definitely saw this as a good topic to research. .
One of the first forms of Latin Music that is becoming popular is Merengue. It is one of the most popular in Latin music, especially for dancing. Merengue originates from the "Perico Ripiao" ensembles from the Dominican Republic, mainly of Cibao. The phrase "Perico Ripiao" is the way of cooking the parrot. In the late 1700s men of the Dominican Families would hunt parrots for dinner. After many successful hunts the families would celebrate and dance to Merengue. Accompanying the dancing there were groups of people who would play the instruments. The instruments usually included the Tres (three string guitar), guira, "maracas", tambora (two headed drum), the marimba (similar to a vibraphone). (Singer).
Merengue has two distinctive rhythms played on the tambora, influenced either by African or Spanish decent. The reason for the two different types are in Cibao version is mainly encouraged by the Spanish descent. The African rooted Haitian version occurs mostly in southern parts of Dominican Republic, and has more of a drum style to it. That form of Merengue only existed because Haitians occupied D.R. from 1822-1844. Merengue was maid popular by band leaders, such as Machito and Tito Rodriguez. Other bands were soon formed in D.R., such as La Orquesta Santa Cecilia and Los Mago del Ritma del Feliz del Rosario. The Lyrics in Merengue music were mostly improvised with some of the same themes that Americans use in music. Some of the themes were love, nature, women, and work.
