Historia General del Pueblo Dominicano Tomo VI

Historia general del pueblo dominicano 753 another national symbol. In this way, musical symbols of national identity would more accurately reflect the nature of Dominican culture. 122 This chapter argues that Dominicans have used merengue as a national symbol precisely because its syncretic quality appeals to the prevailing African-derived aesthetic without offending the prevailing Hispanophilism. As political tides changed and the PLD came to power, attitudes about Dominicanness and race shifted, although the essentially Eurocentric perspective remained in place. Efforts on the parts of members of the intelligensia resulted in Unesco’s recognition of the Congos de Villa Mella, a religious fraternal organization, and the Guloyas of San Pedro de Macorís as a «Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity» in 2001. Kinito Méndez’s use of palos in merengue encouraged both traditional drummers in rural areas as well as city-dwellers to take renewed pride in Afro-Dominican ritual music; soon, palos groups were being playing in discotheques. A new form, reggetón , became exceedingly popular among Dominican youth in the twenty-first century. Sung in Spanish, this blend of hip-hop and Jamaican reggae took shape in Puerto Rico, Panamá and elsewhere the Caribbean, with significant participation by youth of Dominican descent in Puerto Rico and the United States. Its eminent transnationalism recalls merengue’s origins as a pan-Caribbean music, while its influence from reggae and hip-hop, styles often associated with negritude, point to pan-African horizons. A new form of merengue, called mambo or merengue de la calle and incorporating elements of hip-hop and reggetón, also took shape. Significantly, the new style incorporated much influence from the African based gagá repertoire endemic to the Haitian- Dominican community. Both reggetón and new forms of merengue elicited criticism for their brazenly sexual texts and dance style, as merengue had done in the nineteenth century. Believing that no one is a prophet in his own land, several young Dominican musicians moved to New York in the early 1990s, hoping that inroads in the diaspora would eventually open doors at home. In addition to performing, New York-based bands such as Asadifé, led by guitarist Tony Vicioso, and La 21 División, led by Bony Raposo, conducted workshops in schools, educating young people about Afro-Dominican culture. Vicioso went so far as to state that while earlier generations of folklorists aimed to «rescue» rural traditions from extinction, he believes that rural Afro-Dominican