Bachata musicians keep close to their roots
By CHRISTINA YOON Special to the Daily Press
SM PIER For the Dominican band Bachata Roja Legends, tonight’s Twilight Dance Series concert is not just another show. It is a symbol of how far their beloved music has come.
First popular in rural areas and the cabarets of the Dominican Republic in the 1950’s, the “bachata” style of music was frowned upon by the country’s elite. It was banned by respectable venues and boycotted by major media outlets.
Years later, the four members of Bachata Roja Legends, some of the most influential pioneers of the genre, have made a journey to the Pacific Coast. The famed “bachateros” spoke through a translator about the long road to get here.
“It’s like a dream for me,” said band member “El Chivo Sin Ley,”whose real name is Isidro Cabrera. “It’s also exhilarating to feel so honored and appreciated. We bachateros were considered the dregs of society — the lowest of the low. Nobody decent wanted to be associated with us. Now look where we are. It’s not something I ever imagined.”
The guitar-heavy bachata style gleans influences from different genres such as Cuban bolero and Mexican ranchera music. The seasoned members of Bachata Roja Legends describe it as a mix representing the highs and lows of musical emotion.
“There are two different elements to our sound,” Edilio Paredes said. “One is ‘Amargue’ — which translates as bitterness but in terms of music means something like ‘the blues’ … The other element is the more festive. We grew up playing in bars and cabarets, and so our music has also taken on some of that party atmosphere. We play so that people can dance.”
The members of Bachata Roja Legends grew up creating and playing music together. Paredes and Ramòn Cordero have been musical peers for over 50 years, playing in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic as children.
They were joined in the 1960s by El Chivo. Even the band’s youngest member, Joan Soriano, was around the founding members since he was a young boy.
“It’s true, we are like family. Edilio’s son is even the godfather of my son,” Soriano said. “All we bachateros — whether from the old generation or new — know each other personally and have performed together at one time or another. We know what each of us has been through, so this helps us understand each other musically as well.”
Cordero, Paredes and El Chivo are often given much of the credit for making bachata music a celebrated category of Latin music. In the 1980s, the three formed a popular weekly event called “Lunes de Amargue” in the Dominican Republic.
“It’s the first time I remember that doctors and lawyers and people with money and education began openly coming to bachata performances,” El Chivo said of their collaboration.
“The success of ‘Lunes de Amargue’ was the first step that helped Bachata overcome censorship in the Dominican Republic,” Paredes said.
Today, the musicians have toured across Europe, Latin American and the United States separately, and have performed together in Chicago and Baltimore on previous stops of their current tour.
Tonight will be the first time that the members have performed in California. They will team up with fellow bachata musician Puerto Plata and an extensive backup band.
“We weren’t sure when we got started if it would be possible with all the visa issues and coordinating the different artists,” Benjamin de Menil, the band’s producer, said. “Until recently I only knew Ramon and Chivo from scratchy old records — they sound amazing live.”
They hope to garner new fans and expose even those who are already familiar with bachata to the roots of the music.
“So many people know only the modern bachata played in dance halls today,” said Paredes. “I want people to know where bachata came from.”
And no matter where they are, Paredes said, the Legends have one main priority in mind when performing.
“We’re going to play bachata. Let’s see what happens.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 24, 2008. Read the original PDF.