Historia General del Pueblo Dominicano Tomo VI

740 Popular Music and Identity since the Nineteenth Century the dictator. A four-volume collection entitled Antología musical de la Era de Trujillo , published in 1960, includes 300 merengues and 88 other songs dedicated to Trujillo. It also includes articles, written by highly regarded and talented composers, on merengue and Trujillo’s role in promoting Dominican culture and nationalism. Sample titles of merengues included in the Antología illustrate the extent to which the dictator was exalted: « Fe en Trujillo» ( « Faith in Trujillo»), « Trujillo es grande e inmortal» ( « Trujillo is Great and Immortal»). Other song names championed Trujillo’s policies and political cohorts: « La alfabetación» ( « Literacy»), « Trujillo el gran arquitecto» ( « Trujillo, the Great Architect»), « Trujillo y Balaguer» («Trujillo and Balaguer»). 89 A merengue entitled « San Cristóbal», named after Trujillo’s home town, enjoyed great popularity, largely because of its spicy saxophone jaleo. 90 It was included in the repertories of all dance bands. « San Cristóbal» ’s text elucidates the adulation of the dictator, and also refers to Trujillo’s well-known relationships with women: San Cristóbal ¡Salve San Cristóbal, cuna de Trujillo! Ese gran caudilo, jefe de nación. Sus mujeres son las más lindas flores; ellas son primores de gracia y encanto. Much of the dance band repertory consisted of traditional merengue cibaeño, so lyrics often referred to rural life in the Cibao. Performance at elite balls in the capital city, however, radically changed the songs’ tone; instead of pertaining to the immediate context, merengues now connoted an idealized rural culture symbolic of nationhood. Trujillo’s cultural policy was a double-edged sword: while it put creativity under strict control, it also created musical opportunities. The dictator supported municipal bands, which provided townspeople with free entertainment, and he also founded music schools. 91 Moreover, Dominicans responded to the musical quality of Trujilloist music. It is doubtful that even