Early history Puerto Rican Music
The history of the music on the island of Puerto Rico begins with its original inhabitants, the Taínos. While very little of their culture is left, perhaps traces of it can be found in some of the percussion instruments currently in use, particularly in the countryside. Some sporadic attempts have been made to revive this native music, but they are neither sustained nor convincing.
Christopher Columbus arrived to the island in November of 1493, but the indelible mark of Spanish culture wasn’t felt until Juan Ponce de León invaded the island in 1508 and established a colony near the current capital of San Juan. The colonists brought with them the musical instruments of their mother country, notably the guitar, a love of infectious rhythms and even some of the scales left in the Iberian peninsula by the Moors.
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Puerto Rican Music : Son and mambo
Son (music) and mambo are types of Cuban music that became very popular in Puerto Rico in the 1930s. Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrants soon brought the music to New York City, where it evolved into salsa music in the early 1950s.
Puerto Rican Music : Improvisation and Controversia
The heart of much Puerto Rican music is the idea of improvisation in both the music and the lyrics. A performance takes on an added dimension when the audience can anticipate the response of one performer to a difficult passage of music or clever lyrics created by another. This technique in Puerto Rico is called a controversia. A similar dialog creates a heightened appreciation in the classical music of India, or in a lively jam session in jazz.
Puerto Rican Music : Nueva canción, hip hop and merengue
Chilean nueva canción was popularized in the end of the decade, producing stars like El Jibaro and Antonio "El Topo" Caban Vale, both of whom were connected to the Puerto Rican independence movement. Hip hop stars like Vico C made Puerto Rico a center of Latin rap in the 80s, and saw Dominican merengue spread across the island. Many of the biggest stars of the genre in the 90s were Puerto Rican, including Elvis Crespo, Grupo Manía and Olga Tañon. Bomba influences among Puerto Rican merengue stars led to the invention
Puerto Rican Music : Pop music
Several international pop-stars have come from Puerto Rico or are of Puerto Rican descend, including Danny Rivera, perhaps the most popular in Puerto Rico itself, alongside Chayanne, J. Lo, Lucecita Benitez and Ricky Martin. Boy bands like Menudo and Los Chicos also topped charts worldwide for a period, and began the careers of Martin and Chayanne, respectively. Menudo has been recognized by many around the world to be history's greatest boy band; but this title is debatable nowadays, with the success generated by The Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Menudo's phenomenal fame reached the United States,
Puerto Rican Music : Aguinaldo
The Aguinaldo is similar to Christmas carols, except that they are usually sung in a parranda, which is rather like a lively parade that moves from house to house in the neighborhood, looking for holiday food and drink. The melodies were subsequently used for the improvisational décima and seis. There are aguinaldos that are ususally song in churches or religious services, while there are aguinaldos that are more popular and are song in the parrandas.
