What Kind of Music & Dance Is Done in Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico has a rich musical and dance heritage heavily influenced by the African, Spanish and Caribbean Indian cultures.
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History
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The native music and instruments originated with the pre-Columbian Taino Indian spiritual dance and instruments. Formal music and religious chants from Spain, and native African dance and music later were incorporated into Puerto Rican music and dance, creating its own native flavor.
Geography
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Music and dance are native to Puerto Rico, though influences are similar to those of Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
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Types
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In music and dance, there are classical, folk (including danza, bolero, aguinaldo sung during Christmas, and jibaro, which is the rural music), Afro-Puerto Rican bomba y plena, Spanish Christmas tuna and seis, salsa, Hispanic pop, cha-cha, Puerto Rican merengue and reggaeton.
Features
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Taino-inspired instruments, such as güicharo, or güiro, are made from hollow dried gourds. There are four adaptations of the six-string classical Spanish guitar: requinto, bordonua, cuatro and triple. African-inspired percussion instruments were crafted, such as pandereta (tambours), maracas, palitos (sticks) and a variety of drums like timbales, bongo, bombardino and conga.
Identification
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Some of the dance and music are also accompanied by costumes, as in bomba y plena, in which the costumes are influenced by African and Puerto Rican Creole dress. The Spanish Christmas tuna dress is accompanied by colorful capes and ribbons.
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