Bachata goes after the American mainstream.

Bachata is one of the typical music genres of the Dominican Republic. It originated in the countryside and at its inception it was also very popular in brothels. At first it was considered the music of lower class backwards people. It was not until the 1980's that bachata became accepted in most Dominican music circles, this happened because bachata became increasingly popular, more so than merengue which was considered at the time the official music of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican people started requesting bachata songs on the radio and bachata concerts sold more tickets than merengue concerts. In the 1990's Juan Luis Guerra made bachata even more popular and acceptable. In his 1992 Grammy award winning disc "Bachata Rosa."

Now the next frontier for bachata is the American mainstream. The artists behind behind this wave aren't the old school bachatero's of the '70s and '80s. These new bachateros and bachateras are first generation Dominican-Americans just like myself. They hail mostly from New York and New Jersey, these states have the highest population of Dominicans in the nation. Due to the fact that they didn't grow up on the " island" listening to only Juan Luis Guerra, Anthony Santos, Zacarias Fereira, and others, these new American and Dominican bred artists have incorporated genres like R&B, house music and even merengue. This gives contemporary bachata a different feel.

Aventura, Prince Royce and Girlz Talk are some of the biggest names in bachata right now. All of them are Dominican Americans. Prince Royce a 21-year old from the Bronx is now on tour with Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull and his first single was a bachata spanglish rendition of the popular song "Stand by me" by Ben E. King. Which went up to number 8 on the Billboard charts. Take a listen.

The group Aventura whose memebers also hail from the Bronx have already conquered the Latin American mainstream. They have had sold out concerts at Madison Square Garden. They have had eight songs make it to the top five Latin Billboard charts and now have fans worldwide.

Now the lead singer of the group ; Romeo Santos, has gone solo and has done it big by recording a song featuring Usher. The song which is titled "Promise" had made it up to number six on the billboard latin charts. The song is sung both Spanish and English it incorporates typical bachata rhytms and hints of R&B. It is a song that appeals more to the younger generations that it does to my mother's or my grandmother's. The song is definetly on its way to becoming a top hit. Usher's voice fits very well with the rhytm melody the song did not loose anything by him being on the track. Want to hear it for yourself?



Only time will tell if the new and upcoming generations of bachata artists conquer the American mainstream and given that these artists are American as well as staying close to their roots, they have a really good chance.



"The Original Dominican Ginger."

When my mother gave birth to me she didnt expect the baby that the nurse handed to her. My flaming red curls put everyone in shock for a second. Although we have a great deal of European heritage in my family we have no known family member with red hair. My mother has brown hair hair that was blonde in her childhood years and my father has plain mousy brown curly hair. Red hair is very unexpected especially for a Dominican kid. This definetly topped my aunts bluish-green eyes and blonde hair.

As a child i remember being called carrot head by the kids in school. I never thought about it much yeah I was a carrot head that was the only me I had ever known. When I would go out with my mother I remember people constantly stopping and asking questions like; "Is that her natural hair color." "Is she really your daughter?" or say things like "Wow thats really amazing your daughters hair is so beautiful." By the time I reached middle school I had the nickname of "Little Annie." My hair curly and red just like hers.

When I got to middle school and reached my pre-teen years my hair dyeing bonanza had started. My little Annie days were gone for a while. I experimented with almost every hair color possible. From highlights, fire engine red, sandy blonde, black, dark brown, and even hot pink streaks. I was like a chameleon changing who I was on a month to month basis. In high school my classmates waited attentively to see what my new hair color would be. When people asked ; "So what is your natural hair color?" Brown was my response. So many years living inside a hair dye box,  had caused me to lose touch with my true red headed self.

One day looking through a family album I saw a picture of myself as a child. Atop my head flaming red curls. I came to a realization that caused me to change my life and perception of myself. Red is my hair color and I chose to embrace since then. I have spent my college years going natural and that means going back to red. Not the red that is in the contents of a hair dye box.

Now that Im older my hair is no longer the bright carrot color it used to be when I was a child. It has now darkened to a shade of aubrun. In bad light it looks light brown but under the perfect light my hair shines in all its red and natural glory. And when people ask what my natural hair color is I proudly say red.

A tid bit on the Dominican Republic.

Reading this you might think to yourself, Dominican Republic? Where is that? I have never heard of that country. The Dominican Republic is a little humble country that sits on the island of Hispanola in the Carribean sea. Dominican Republic share the island with the country of Haiti to the west. Before the country was colonized by Spain it was inhabited by the native Taino indians and its first name was Quisqueya and it is still a term that is widely used today.

Santo Domingo the capital of the country is the oldest continously inhabited city in the Americas. What Dominican Republic is mostly known for is the nations beautiful beaches with turqouise water and white sand. Also many famous baseball players are of Dominican descent but there are many other things that are great about Quisqueya. Such as the music, arts, cuisine, history and culture. I would recommend everyone to atleast google Dominican Republic you will be amazed and what you will discover.

What is this about?

Hello everyone,

As individuals we all carry different identities.We are students, brothers, sisters, mothers, cousins etc. This is what will be explored in this blog. I will be bringing you the American experience through the experiences of a second generation Dominican American living in Houston. Through this blog you will join me in helping understand my various identities and help discover and embrace your own as well.