User:Clearcontribution/Bachata (music)

1950's: Trujillo's dictatorship and the origins of bachata music
Although the first official bachata song was released in 1962, bachata music had already existed informally in el campo, the rural or countryside parts of the Dominican Republic where it originated. Prior to the 1960's, at the time of Trujillo's dictatorship, the word bachata meant an impromptu party in el campo, characterized by its melancholy and bittersweet lyrics, singing, and dancing. Informal bachateros at the time were majority poor, working class people and so was their audience. Given the initial demographics of bachata music’s audience and musicians, Trujillo harbored negative emotions towards bachata music and stigmatized it. As a result, bachata became synonymous with poverty, delinquency, lack of education, and prostitution to the middle and upper-class Dominican society. Bachata was also referred to as música cachivache, or music of little worth, and música de guardia, or music for low ranking military and police men. Still, Bachata music prevailed through the 50s as poor, working class people played bachata music in bars and brothels. Bachatateros also participated in the informal music sector where they paid studios to record songs on records or vinyls and sold them to people and establishments for low prices. Establishments like colmados in el campo bought popular bachata recordings and played them on jukeboxes for their customers to listen to while shopping.

1960s: Trujillo's death and the spread of bachata music
The 1960's signal the immense spread of bachata music. Following Trujillo's death and end of his dictatorship in 1961, there was an opening for bachata music within the music industry amidst the loosened restrictions. The end of Trujillo's dictatorship motivated people from el campo to migrate to Santo Domingo, the capital of the largest city in the Dominican Republic -- before then, strict migration policies prevented the movement of people within and outside the country. As people settled in the city, they continued to play Bachata music because it allowed them to express the struggle and poverty they experienced in the city. Along with Bachata's audience in the city, bachateros from el campo who also migrated to Santo Domingo took advantage of the city's growing music industry.

The music industry increased music production and broadcasting after the end of Trujillo's dictatorship. When it came to bachata music, music industry leaders began recording, producing, and broadcasting bachata songs as long as musicians had the financial means to pay for the service. Soon enough, José Manuel Calderón recorded the first official bachata songs and got air-time on the radio stations for select songs ("Borracho de amor" and "Que será de mi (Condena)"). Bachateros such as Rodobaldo Duartes, Rafael Encarnacion, Ramoncito Cabrera, El Chivo Sin Ley, Corey Perro, Antonio Gómez Sacero, Luis Segura, Louis Loizides, Eladio Romero Santos, Ramón Cordero also recorded and released bachata music. Ramon Pichardo, an entrepreneur, offered bachateros the option to finance records -- paying the service fee in installments -- and publish them on a record label. Singers such as Melinda Rodriguez and Tatico Henríquez were a few of the rural artists who were able to take advantage of this opportunity and start careers in the Dominican music industry.

As studios began recording bachata music in the 1960s, bachata music listeners beyond the countryside were exposed to the music. Radio Guarachita, hosted by Radhamés Aracena in 1966, was the only radio station at the time that played and centered bachata music. Aracena broadcasted popular bachata songs produced in the 60s and worked with bachateros to produce music. Listeners regarded Bachata music as a variant of bolero -- the difference being that bachata music was guitar-based meanwhile bolero was not -- since the term "bachata" still referred to impromptu parties. In fact, Bachata music was not formally referred to as "bachata" until the early 90s. Even though Bachata music began to spread, anti-bachata sentiment from Trujillo's rule continued into the 60's. Middle and upper-class Dominican society denounced bachata, calling bachata music a form of cultural backwardness. Since Bachata music was not widely accepted by society for its "vulgar and sensual" nature, middle and upper-class people refrained from listening and dancing to Bachata music to protect their reputation. They attached a negative connotation to the word bachata and used it as an insult to the music.

1970-80's: The continual growth of bachata music
The popularity of bachata music continued to rise during the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1970s, bachata music was hardly played on radio stations other than Radio Guarachita and was absent from television and print. Bachateros were also barred from performing in upper-class venues. Despite the restrictions, many Bachateros performanced in bars, brothels, and small venues in poor city neighborhoods and el campo. Bachata music became known as la musica de amargue, or bitter music, because it was still influenced by despair, sex, and hardship, which only fueled anti-bachata sentiment in middle and upper-class Dominican society.

By the 1980s, different styles of Bachata music began to appear. Blas Durán took la musica de amargue and "introduced musical innovations such as an electric rather than acoustic lead guitar, faster tempi, and multitrack recording." Durán was the first to record with electric guitar in his 1987 bachata-merengue song, "Mujeres hembras." Other Dominican bachateros that emerged from this time period were Marino Perez and Leonardo Paniagua. Beyond the Dominican Republic, Dominican people continued to migrate outside the Dominican Republic years after Trujillo's death, carrying bachata music with them where they went such as New York City.

1990-2000s: The acceptance of bachata music
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2010s-today:
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