Historia General del Pueblo Dominicano Tomo VI

736 Popular Music and Identity since the Nineteenth Century which united the Republic more than ever before. Additionally, Trujillo’s rise through the national constabulary made him the first Dominican president with a truly national, rather than regional, base of support. He subjugated the local leaders who had traditionally held power in their respective regions. Although the northern caudillo Desiderio Arias had once supported Trujillo, Arias’s relations with the dictator were not always good. When fled the capital in 1931, Trujillo’s forces followed, caught, and executed, him. Because of Arias’s popularity, several anecdotes about the execution circulated. The most colorful of these held that Arias’s fate was similar to that of John the Baptist, maintaining that the caudillo’s head was presented to Trujillo on a platter, surrounded by flowers! Trujillo forbade open display of devotion to his rival, including performance of the merengue « Desiderio Arias». 78 Trujillo’s program of centralization was not limited to politics. Like the European totalitarian leaders, the Dominican dictator understood that culture can provide effective symbols of national identity. He used merengue cibaeño in a 1930 political campaign, inwhichÑico Lora and ToñoAbreu accompanied him on speaking tours, singing merengues extolling his virtues and criticizing his opponents. Luis Alberti remembers: Trujillo based his 1930 political campaign on merengue. A típico quartet accompanied him to every town and championed him by singing about his promises and future glory. 79 Composed in 1930, the following merengue correctly divined the nature of Trujillo’s regime: Horacio salió Horacio salió y ahora entra Trujillo. Tenemos esperanza en nuestro caudillo. Todo cambiará, en marcha caliente. Pues ahora Trujillo es el presidente.