The Artist Responsible for Modern Bachata (No, not THAT Modern Bachata)

Jan 9

Nowadays when you hear the term “Modern Bachata,” you think of musicians like Jr, Aventura, Romeo Santos, and Prince Royce.

But that’s really Modern Bachata 2.0. Bachata has been modernized before and you probably didn’t even realize it because many people call it “Traditional Bachata.” (Aside - this is precisely why many refuse to add this modifier to the name of Bachata.)

Let’s get some perspective first before I dive all the way in. The first song later considered to be Bachata was released 60 years ago by José Manuel Calderón (1962). However, its style was essentially still Bolero Campesino. When I play the original version of “Condena” to my Bachata students, they can hardly believe it’s Bachata. Over the next 15-20 years, Bachata would slowly distinguish itself from its mother genre by refining rhythms, changing up rhythms between the rhythmic sections, and exploring faster tempos.

In the late 80s, the electric lead guitar came to Bachata via Blas Duran, a brilliant singer, composer, and producer - and it changed Bachata forever.

Blas Duran began playing Bachata and Merengue in 1969 and sang with several Merengue ensembles over the years. While one of his earlier releases, “Clavelito,” seemed to fit typical Bachata-Bolero standards of the time, both musically and lyrically, much of his music collection is known for its heavy double-entendre, which was a common theme in the 80s with other musicians too, such as the legendary Tony Santos.

In 1986 Blas Duran released a Bachata song with an electric lead guitar, “El Motorcito.” The next year, his Merengue song utilizing electric guitar, “Consejo a las Mujeres” (Advice to the Women) was also a big hit.

Duran also began using the metal güira from Merengue instead of the maracas previously used in Bachata and other production tricks he learned from his work in Merengue.

When Bachata scholar and author, Deborah Pacini Hernandez, finished her dissertation on Bachata in 1989, she hypothesized that Duran’s work would make a big mark on the genre, and geeze, was she ever right. Looking back, we can see just how great of an impact he had.

While the prevalence of double-entendre in Bachata has decreased, Blas Duran’s musical innovations made way for the legends of the 90s - artists like Luis Vargas, Anthony Santos, and Raulín Rodriguez, all of whom use electric guitars and güiras in their music and who have collectively lead Bachata to new heights of popularity.

Blas Duran: Bachata Icon.

Sources:
Bachata: A Social History of Dominican Popular Music. Deborah Pacini Hernandez

Bachata and Dominican Identity. Julie A. Sellers