root salad Joaquin Diaz
Merengue from the Dominican Republic is a fiery dance music. Bas Springer meets a great exponent.
M
erengue, the traditional dance music from the Dominican Republic, has been used and misused many times for political purposes, for example by dictator Rafael Trujillo, who held power from the 1930s until his assassination in 1961. Trujillo, himself a great lover of merengue, wanted to make sure that he could hear merengue at any party where he appeared. He therefore declared merengue the national music.
Many decades later merengue was used to protest against the American inva- sion of the Dominican Republic in 1965.
There is nothing political about the virtuoso merengue accordeonist Joaquín Diaz though. He is praised for his light- fingered playing, infectious vocals and dynamic stage performance. Diaz is one of the best of the new generation of tradi- tional folk merengue artists, mixing tradi- tional and originals tunes with exhilarat- ing rhythms.
He was born in 1960 in the village of San Pedro de Marcorís on the south coast of the island, where many famous Domini- can baseball players hail from. But Diaz never had any ambition to engage in sports; music was his passion. When he was nine years old he started playing the accordeon. At the age of twelve he formed his first group and by the time he was fifteen he was already playing at some of the most prestigious hotels in the capi- tal Santo Domingo and also made his debut on local TV.
Still in his teens, he performed at the Pan-American Games in Puerto Rico accompanying the Dominican Republic's Ballet Folklorico which led to a private concert at the home of then-President Joaquín Balaguer.
In 1990 Diaz emigrated to Canada and
since then he’s travelled around the world as an ambassador of merengue tipico, the traditional merengue, playing at such prestigious festivals as the Rainforest World Music Festival (Malaysia), Womex, Førde Festival (Norway), Les Suds d’Arles (France) and the Universal Forum of Cul- tures (Barcelona), as well as many major Canadian folk festivals. He’s also recorded four CDs : Merengue Mas Merengue (1998), Merengue Alegre (2002), Ola (2004) and Mi Corazón (2006).
In March we caught Diaz and his ubiq- uitous grin at Babel Med in Marseille where he gave a very energetic show. Not dancing to his merengue tipico was hardly an option.
About the origin of merengue Diaz says “There are many theories but what’s sure is that merengue was born in the
Dominican Republic and it is a mix of African rhythms and Spanish folklore. Merengue has existed right from the early days of the Dominican Republic and was played on instruments which were easily accessible and which the common people had at home like tambora, bongo, calebas (calabash), maraca and bandura. Merengue singers accompanied them- selves on a home-made guitars. At night the working people came together and sang songs about their daily lives.”
“In the early days merengue was not accepted by the ruling classes because they considered merengue to be vulgar and music of black people. It was dictator Tru- jillo who brought merengue from the working class to the ballrooms.”
How did accordeon become the most popular instrument in merengue?
”The accordeon was introduced in the 19th Century by German businessmen who bought tobacco in the Dominican Republic and sold accordeons on the side. The accordeon soon became the favourite instrument of local artists because of its strong, clear sound that goes well with the voice, and because it was easy to carry.”
“My great inspiration is Ñico Lora [1858-1971], a famous Dominican folk musician who is considered as one of the fathers of merengue. He was the first great accordeonist from the Dominican Republic, playing chotis [a folk dance that apparently originated in Bohemia],
A
waltzes and merengue. For my new album I recorded one of Ñico Lora’s songs. Other great accordeonists were the guys from El Trio Reynoso, who were popular in the 1940s and ’50s, and Tatico Henriquez, who played in the ’60s. But my greatest influ- ence was my father. He was an amateur musician, who played diatonic accordeon and guitar. So those instruments were always in our house. I started playing the tambora and the accordeon when I was nine years old. As a child I would play on the streets or in the parks and restaurants of my village. On the weekends I would go to the beach to play together with my father. I still remember how I was not allowed to touch his accordeon,” says Diaz with a hearty laugh.
sked about his style Diaz responds : “I’ve got my own style, but it’s based on the merengue tipico, the traditional merengue. I also
play bachata, which is much older than merengue. The merengue I make is typical roots music. It's the pure Dominican merengue, with accordeon, played in the original style. Merengue has grown into something that is different – the popular merengue uses piano and horns. These days the Dominican people want to hear a pop type of merengue, sometimes mixed with hip-hop. I don’t have anything against it but I prefer the traditional merengue because I want to stay close to the folklore of my country”.
joaquindiaz.com F 21 f
Photo: Judith Burrows
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