Last Thursday, members of Elizabethtown College’s Spanish club were part of a fascinating presentation by senior Veronica Ruiz on Puerto Rican music. Ruiz, a biology and pre-med major, is Puerto Rican herself and has many extended family members living in Puerto Rico. The presentation combined Ruiz’s personal experiences with Puerto Rican music with an overview of the history of Puerto Rican music and its many genres. Ruiz painted an intimate portrait of Puerto Rican music, discussing how it allows her to remain connected to her culture and ancestors while living in the United States, and emphasized its community building and familial elements.
As modern-day Puerto Ricans have Taíno Indian, Spanish and Black ancestry, their music encompasses a wide variety of influences from each source, making it incredibly dynamic and diverse. The strong foundations of Puerto Rican music established by early styles like Bomba music allow for creativity and the development of modern hybrids like Latin trap and reggaeton music.
Bomba combines the art of dance and music and is often used as a means of community expression in Puerto Rico. It allows for a creative and interactive relationship between dancers and instrumentalists, as the percussionists improvise rhythms by following the gestures and steps of the Bomba dancers. Bomba provides a communal space for the release of energy and emotion, and in recent years it has become associated with protest, as Bomba performers were often seen at Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. Many Puerto Ricans have also used Bomba to heal and express grief in response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, a natural disaster whose effects are still seen in Puerto Rico today.
Many of Puerto Rico’s oldest musical traditions come from the Taíno Indians, who were the island’s original inhabitants. The Güiro is a rhythmic instrument developed by the Taino which plays a key role in salsa music. Güiros are made by hollowing out gourds and cutting notches along the side. Ruiz’s grandfather is 100 years old and has played the Güiro for most of his life. He lives in Puerto Rico and grows and constructs Güiros at his home.
Salsa is a genre of dance and music developed by Cuban and Puerto Rican Americans living in New York City during the 1960’s. Salsa music is upbeat and rhythmic, with a distinct pulse resulting from its musical structure, which places the bass line before the downbeat by a half-beat. Salsa music and dance has become incredibly popular since the 1960’s and is currently practiced and performed by artists all over the world. Lin-Manuel Miranda, one of the United States’ most famous Puerto Rican Americans incorporated salsa dance into several musical numbers in the first musical he wrote, “In the Heights,” which opened on Broadway in 2008 and won a Tony Award for Best Choreography.
In her presentation, Ruiz talked at length about the influence of Puerto Rican music and artists on the modern music industry. In 2017, the reggaeton song “Despacito” by Puerto Rican musical artists Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee went viral internationally and topped the charts of 47 different countries. Ruiz remarked that it felt very surreal for her to hear “Despacito” on the radio and around school during her day-to-day life. The song’s success shed new light on Puerto Rican culture and life and it provided an avenue for Spanish language and reggaeton music to enter the mainstream market. Many American artists also began recording collaborations with Puerto Rican musical artists like Bad Bunny and Anuel AA.
When asked about the importance of music to Puerto Rican culture, Ruiz stated that, “music is the heart of Puerto Rican culture. You can’t have Puerto Rico without music.” Like many other Puerto Rican families, multiple generations of Ruiz’s family play instruments, including herself. In Puerto Rico, music provides a critical opportunity for community building. “Music plays an essential, key role in Puerto Rican culture. Our music doesn’t only bring our people together, but people around the world unite with and have fun with our music as well.”
Ruiz’s presentation is just one of the many events Etown’s Spanish Club has planned for this semester. The club holds virtual meetings on the first and third Thursday of every month over Zoom and offers prize giveaways to regular attendees. They hold Spanish Conversation Hours where students can practice their Spanish language skills as well. Once the pandemic is over, they plan to hold events with Spanish food, dancing and other fun activities.
To get involved, you can check out the club’s Instagram page @etownspanishclub, or you can reach out to their email spanishclub@etown.edu.
