Music From Hispanic Carribean

Music from the hispanic carribean has become a major part of the culture accross major cities in the United States, which there has been many influences on music in the Hispanic Carribean. There’s a variety of genres with music in the Hispanic Carribean such as merengue, salsa, Spanish-language hip hop, Latin jazz, reggaeton, and many others. There’s many culture differences between the Hispanic Carribean nations, but according to the reading, “a certain pan-Latino sense of identity, of shared values and heritage, is evident”. Latinos in America have been influencing musical styles in this country for decades, and the reading also mentions that Spanish culture in America have influenced musical styles in the United States since the last two centuries, as well as assimilating influences.
America is a country with a number of unique cultures and the music that comes along with it, which the Carribean has a lot of dominace, popularity, and representation in vibrant areas across America.
In these popular areas across America, we see popular music from the carribean develop there such as merengue, salsa, and reggae, which is also listened to around the world. According to the reading, some of the expression seen in Caarribean music, preserve elements of music and dance, which brought to the region hundreds of years ago from Africa, Spain, and many other nations. Regions like Africa played a huge part with it’s influence on music in the Hispanic Carribean, including it’s popular classical culture and music traditions. The reading also explains that both regions use music to tell their strories. For examp;e telling stories that involves the issue of dominace of the european nation, cultural contact, and
adaptation.
Furthermore, the history between the United States and the Hispanic Carribean is very much similar in which, Latinos and Latin Americans is by far the largest minority group in the country. America gets immigrants from every nation, especially the carribean, and with Latinos being the largest minority group, that should say a lot about the history between the United States and the Carribean. Today, Latin American culture is recognized as an essential part of American culture. Spanish is also our second language here in America. Looking back at the history of the United States and the Carribean, there’s a common linkage between the two nations. The things that link the history of both nations are colonialism, domination,and settlement of foreign territory. According to the reading, “ Both regions developed through a process of European colonialism….”” These two regions which had native populations suffered under the hands European Oppression, inculding harsh treatment. Having that European influence is another similarity that these two regions share. Even with slavery ending two decades ago, another similarity of history that the United States and the Carribean share is that they continue to deal with the social reprocussions of slavery.
The culture of the Carribean and the music that comes along with it was transformed over the past centuries due to the reinterpretation, adaptation, and oppositionality caused by dominant forces like Europe and America. Due to the dominant forces reinterpreting their culture and forcing them to adapt, it’s almost as if the Carribean regions identity was taken from them. European power forced them to adapt by enslaving them and outlawing their cultural expression. The ethnic tension of Carribean regions to emerge is a reaction that is seen as reinterpretation. The chapter mentions that, reinterpretation cam along when, “Africans and others come to view the European cultures they encounter through the lens of their own culture”. Which as a result of European reinterpretations, most traditions with the Carribean culture has seem to develop. What I believe was really difficult for the idegenious people of the Carribean was adaptation. Adaptation from Dominant groups of Europeans caused the Carribean to forsake their ethnic expressions for the Europeans cultural expressions, which caused a new outlook into a new society. Although people of the Carribean nation were forced to adapt, they were not letting go of their culture without a fight, which caused opposition against European dominance. In the reading it talks about the Carribean oppositionality, and how it only means taht they have a means of maintaining a unique identity within their region. Opposition from the Carribean came into place as soon as the Carribean region realized that the European political influence threated their future and national interest. The influence of these dominant forces threatned the identity of their culture.