Dominican Music And Society Analysis

McClary’s proclaims that, “music does not just passively reflect society; it also serves as a public forum within which various models of gender organization (along with many other aspects of social life) are asserted, adopted, contested, and negotiated.” Music does not just passively reflect “aspects of social life”, it is a way to play with constructions placed by the society. Using codes created by society, individuals learn social behaviors through rewarded behavior. Codes that remain consistent imply that society has been adopting and asserting the norm. Stokes states that, “... music can be used as a means of transcending the limitations of our own place in the world…” The meaning placed music changes because the culture changes. Even

In the late 1900’s, there was a divide between social classes in the Dominican Republic. The divide between classes was reflected in the types of music that were preferred by the difference classes. Stokes argued that “...music is socially meaningful not entirely but largely because it provides means by which people recognize identities and places, and the boundaries which separate them.” Music is being used by those in control to create categories of “us” and “others”. Within the Dominican Republic, there is a divide between the Dominicanyorks and the old Dominican society. These boundaries and social groups were determined and identified through the use of

In the Dominican Republic, merengue de orquestra was being used represent “Dominicanness” in spite of being preferred by the middle and upper class. After moving to New York, Dominicans began to contest and negotiate their status in society by dismissing merengue de orquestra through the incorporation of their, previously ignored, African heritage. The music of the Dominicanyorks is unlike the previous popular music of their home country. The music they listened to, merengue tipico and bachata, is evocative of the fourth stage of immigration, “branching out”. As Jacques Attali proclaims, “there is no freedom without music.” Music can be used as a tool to attain freedom as well as a tool to take it away. The Dominicanyorks were able to gain freedom by creating their own space in a new country that viewed Dominicans as minorities. Through the use of English words, different musical genres and traditional instruments music facilitate a connection to the Dominicans new home and identity.

The previously marginalized music, merengue tipico and bachata, have returned to the Dominican Republic and have become the “mainstream” music for all social classes. The Dominicanyorks used their music to express and contest the negative perceptions placed on them by the old Dominican society. Through music, Dominicanyorks were able to create a plural identity that allows for a more