Home Alone and Bachata
Once again, I have a weekend home alone. It's nice after days of kids, moms, and non-stop go-go-go to have a while to spend with the the cats, dogs, and myself. I can sleep in, eat whenever I want (as long as I can find some food), and just get some good quality alone time. Now, it'd be a good time to spend packing and working on my Spanish, but I find myself playing on the internet and watching T.V. Today that all paid off. Earlier, the internet was down, so I watched T.V. I found some documentary channel that was doing a show on the history of Bachata, a Dominican form of music. I got to watch T.V., practice Spanish, and learn about the DR all at once!
Bachata is a form of music that this documentary compared to the American Blues. It grew out of the poor people of the Dominican Repubic and apparently "Bachata" is derived from street or backyard parties. The common people began to play this particular music. Bachata is music from the heart. It talks about love, suffering, poverty, and so much more. When it first came out, the higher class refused to listen to it because it was associated with the poor, loose women, and farmers. A lot of times, it is associated with the campesinos who were slowly moving to the cities, so you would find this music in seedy, cheap bars and brothels. Today, however, Bachata has become much more mainstream. One Dominican who now lives in New York talked about her relationship with the music. She said that she is able to connect to the people of her home country through Bachata. Also, she believed that if a Dominican isn't moving to Bachata when they hear it, they are not really Dominican. I have read others blogs about the music of the DR, but never really thought about where it had come from.
Running into the documentary made me realize that I am going to the DR for a reason. I mean, really, I would have never found a documentary such as the one on Bachata a year ago! I truly believe that I have made the right decision about where I am going and what I am doing. I have promised myself that I will work hard to do what I need to do in the DR. I won't lie and say that I'm not a little scared and worried, because I am. But, this is a time to get over that fear and learn about the people of the DR, the environment of the DR, and myself.
Bachata is a form of music that this documentary compared to the American Blues. It grew out of the poor people of the Dominican Repubic and apparently "Bachata" is derived from street or backyard parties. The common people began to play this particular music. Bachata is music from the heart. It talks about love, suffering, poverty, and so much more. When it first came out, the higher class refused to listen to it because it was associated with the poor, loose women, and farmers. A lot of times, it is associated with the campesinos who were slowly moving to the cities, so you would find this music in seedy, cheap bars and brothels. Today, however, Bachata has become much more mainstream. One Dominican who now lives in New York talked about her relationship with the music. She said that she is able to connect to the people of her home country through Bachata. Also, she believed that if a Dominican isn't moving to Bachata when they hear it, they are not really Dominican. I have read others blogs about the music of the DR, but never really thought about where it had come from.
Running into the documentary made me realize that I am going to the DR for a reason. I mean, really, I would have never found a documentary such as the one on Bachata a year ago! I truly believe that I have made the right decision about where I am going and what I am doing. I have promised myself that I will work hard to do what I need to do in the DR. I won't lie and say that I'm not a little scared and worried, because I am. But, this is a time to get over that fear and learn about the people of the DR, the environment of the DR, and myself.
posted by Jenn | 14:32
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