In Merengue: Dominican Music and Identity, following Benedict Anderson’s concept of imagined communities and nationalism as cultural artifact, author Paul Austerlitz proposes that merengue “lies at the heart of the Dominican national imagination” (xiv). On page 129, he states, for example, that liking merengue seems to be a patriotic duty for Dominicans. The author suggests that merengue “derives its efficacy as a Dominican symbol by simultaneously encoding several often contradictory aspects of Dominican life” (xv). He recounts the history of merengue from the mid twentieth Century to 1995, focusing on the Dominican Republic’s social history; race, gender, and class issues; cultural nationalist movements in response to foreign occupation; the propagandist use of merengue by the Trujillo regime, its local variants, and its transnationalization.
Austerlitz pays particularly close attention to historical and contemporary Hispanic-centrism in the Dominican Republic, a process which often neglected or even denied the African influence in Dominican culture and the African roots of merengue rhythms. In fact, he argues that merengue, and particularly the variant from the predominantly white Cibao region, was accepted by the Dominican upper class as the canonized musical tradition of the Dominican Republic because of its relative high Hispanic musical roots in comparison to other more African-heavy musical styles, such as those involving ritual drumming.
In the history of Dominican merengue, the role of Trujillo, who ruled the country from 1930 to 1961, is a particularly interesting chapter. As Austerlitz points out, Trujillo “like the European totalitarian leaders … understood that rural expressive forms can serve as effective symbols of national identity” (52). Trujillo used merengue music as part of his campaign, had a personal band that was required to specialize in merengue and play it at events, and was well known as a skilled merengue dancer (52-73).
Austerlitz points out that merengue became essential to national identity for Dominicans “as outside influences inundated the Republic in the late twentieth century,” but also for the large numbers of Dominicans who emigrated abroad. I believe this twofold indispensability of music for cultural identity holds true for all Latinos, be it juxtaposed to outside influences for those who live in Latinoamerica, or as a long distance umbilical cord to the motherland for those who have emigrated.
Furthermore, Austerlitz presents the development of Dominican national identity as a “hegemonic process” that invokes an identity that advances the interest of a nation’s dominant class (11). This is also applicable to the formation of national identities in many other Latinoamerican countries where, until very recently, African cultural roots were consistently downplayed and completely unappreciated in favor of “Hispanidad”.
It is also important to point out, as Austerlitz does on page 12, that nowadays Dominican merengue has transcended its national roots to become an integral part of the “soundscape of Latinos in all of the Americas” and the pan-Latino identity. This phenomenon started in the ‘50s with musicians such as Joseito Mateo, and went on through the ‘70s, due in part to the presence of Dominican musicians in New York. However, the international rise of merengue from a regional genre to a popular Latin rhythm took place in the ‘80s, mainly due to the success of musicians such as Wilfrido Vargas and Juan Luis Guerra. Decades afterward, their music is still common, if not essential, at danced parties all over Latinoamerica. The music of Juan Luis Guerra and his group 4:40 in particular, is often conceived as having elevated merengue with its jazz harmonies, funk influences, and poetic or socially conscious lyrics. Yet some Dominicans also point to the double standard through which the upper class danced to 4:40’s Bachata Rosa while censuring bachata in general as a lewd music genre of the rural and lower class.
Another aspect that Austerlitz explores about merengue, which applies to all Latin dances, is dance as courtship. Many of the contemporary popular Latin dances were at first regarded by the upper class in Latinoamerican countries as lascivious and unacceptable. There is no doubt that hip-swaying Merengue, particularly in its close embrace format, can be a rather arousing dance form – although it can also be danced by couples keeping a considerable distance between the man and the woman. Besides dancing as a courtship ritual for couples, it is also important to notice that Latin dance genres are always socially acceptable in mixed gender situations. In fact, dance skills are considered a desirable quality in a potential partner, and a source of pride for both men and women.
While we are on the subject of gender, it is also important to acknowledge, as Austerlitz does on page 115, that Latin sexuality is largely misogynistic. This is reflected in the lyrics of many merengues with lecherous references. Furthermore, merengue, like most other Latin music genres, has traditionally been mostly performed and composed by men. However, in the most recent decades, female performers and all female groups of merengue have enjoyed international success; for example, Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañón and Dominican group Las Chicas del Can. This group was well known for their sex appeal and provocative outfits, which many criticized as demeaning and instigating the voyeuristic male gaze; while others, such as Dominican anthropologist Carlos Andújar, viewed “erotic dance on the merengue bandstand as the same kind of celebration of fertility that characterizes much African influenced expression” (117).
Among the many reasons Austerlitz suggests for the huge acceptance of merengue in D.R. and abroad, I find one of them particularly interesting because it is generalizable to a formula that applies to all music in Latinoamerica: level of danceability is directly proportional to success. Merengue has been welcomed by non-Dominican Latinos too, partly because it features an upbeat inviting rhythm, and because of the simplicity of its dance steps. Compared to other Latin genres, merengue is not just enjoyable but easy to dance (128).
The success of merengue outside of D.R., and, on a larger scale, of Latin music worldwide, is a source of pride for Dominicans and all Latinos respectively. Austerlitz points this out when he quotes Arnold Perris: “musical nationalism is an effective oppositional strategy when a subjugated nation’s art gains fame on the global stages … a subtle act of resistance” (151).
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