Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean - Temple University
Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean - Temple University
Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean - Temple University
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22 Peter Manuel<br />
to become <strong>the</strong> basic rhythm of <strong>the</strong> danzón and <strong>the</strong> second section of <strong>the</strong> Puerto<br />
Rican and Dom<strong>in</strong>ican danzas, all as emerg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1870s. In <strong>the</strong>se genres it<br />
was typically presented <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> creolized form of an ost<strong>in</strong>ato <strong>in</strong> which it is followed<br />
by a measure of two or three quarter notes, typically <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> pattern “oneand-two-and-three-and-four-and-one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and.”<br />
18<br />
In <strong>the</strong> result<strong>in</strong>g form of a syncopated measure followed by an unsyncopated<br />
one, it coheres with <strong>the</strong> Cuban clave pattern (<strong>in</strong> its “three-two” form), a structural<br />
ost<strong>in</strong>ato <strong>in</strong> Cuban rumba, son, and modern salsa. The c<strong>in</strong>quillo also figures<br />
prom<strong>in</strong>ently as a melodic pattern <strong>in</strong> Tr<strong>in</strong>idadian calypso and various o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
genres animated by <strong>the</strong> colonial-era “French connection.”<br />
Hear<strong>in</strong>g two genres as different as thunderous Vodou banda drumm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and an elegant piano danza of Tavárez, it might be difficult to imag<strong>in</strong>e any<br />
formal aff<strong>in</strong>ity between <strong>the</strong>m. Yet both are undergirded by <strong>the</strong> c<strong>in</strong>quillo—as<br />
a straightforward, <strong>in</strong>sistent ost<strong>in</strong>ato <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> banda, and <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> piano danza as<br />
a gently lilt<strong>in</strong>g left-hand syncopation, typically rendered with such leisurely<br />
rubato that it is almost unrecognizable. Puerto Rican historian Ángel Qu<strong>in</strong>tero-Rivera<br />
refers to its presence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> latter context as a “camouflaged drum”<br />
(1994), <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sense that <strong>the</strong> rhythm derives from Afro-<strong>Caribbean</strong> genres like<br />
bomba; <strong>in</strong> some contexts <strong>the</strong> camouflage was scarcely present at all, lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />
conservative commentators, such as essayist Braulio Dueño Colón <strong>in</strong> 1913, to<br />
denounce <strong>the</strong> presence of <strong>the</strong> “grotesque and anti-aes<strong>the</strong>tic bomba rhythm” <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> danza ([1913] 1977: 17). In o<strong>the</strong>r contexts one might alternately choose<br />
to regard <strong>the</strong> c<strong>in</strong>quillo as a generalized creole rhythm that came to pervade<br />
a gamut of <strong>Caribbean</strong> musics, to very different effects. Indeed, if <strong>in</strong> Vodou<br />
drumm<strong>in</strong>g it is <strong>in</strong>tended to precipitate spirit possession, <strong>in</strong> a danza of Tavárez<br />
it is perhaps more sublim<strong>in</strong>ally redolent of a creole sensuality, like <strong>the</strong> drowsy<br />
sway<strong>in</strong>g of palm trees on a hot afternoon.<br />
In terms of style, context, and general character, <strong>the</strong> rowdy Afro-<strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
tumba francesa and <strong>the</strong> genteel Tavárez piano danza could be regarded<br />
as represent<strong>in</strong>g extreme ends of a broad contradance-family cont<strong>in</strong>uum. The<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>der of this gamut could be seen as compris<strong>in</strong>g more “ma<strong>in</strong>stream” varieties<br />
of contradances, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> form of dance and music subgenres with various<br />
shared choreographic and musical features, flourish<strong>in</strong>g especially <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> n<strong>in</strong>eteenth<br />
and perhaps early twentieth centuries <strong>in</strong> Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and<br />
<strong>the</strong> Dom<strong>in</strong>ican Republic. These contradances might take place <strong>in</strong> various sett<strong>in</strong>gs,<br />
with diverse sorts of accompany<strong>in</strong>g ensembles. In an elite ballroom, <strong>the</strong><br />
ensemble might typically <strong>in</strong>clude one or two clar<strong>in</strong>ets, viol<strong>in</strong>s, trumpets, a contrabass,<br />
and percussion—all typically played by mulatto or black professional<br />
musicians who would likely be read<strong>in</strong>g from handwritten scores. In more humble<br />
circumstances, <strong>the</strong> music might be provided by a s<strong>in</strong>gle melody <strong>in</strong>strument,<br />
such as a fiddle or flute, accompanied by a guitar (or guitar variant) or even a<br />
harp, <strong>in</strong> which case <strong>the</strong> musicians might be perform<strong>in</strong>g familiar tunes from<br />
memory. Ano<strong>the</strong>r ensemble format was <strong>the</strong> military brass band, typically play-