S2 Track 4: Señora Bachata / Lady Bachata

Mix(ed)tape

We all know that in dance socials in the U.S. and in other parts of the world, if you’ve danced three or four salsa songs, La Señora Bachata is coming your way! In this episode we embark on a difficult voyage to explore the black roots of bachata. The fascinating development of this popular rhythm reveals conflicts of racial identity that exist in the Dominican Republic and in Latin America at large.
In our visit to La Señora Bachata we talk about the development of the rhythm and its musical influences as well as the political and social events that marked its evolution. We also talk about bachata dance and about the role of sensual bachata on the diffusion of traditional Dominican bachata. We close the episode with reflexions from local bachateros regarding the lack of explicit race-driven discussions on the contributions of black people to the rhythm of bachata.
Our guests are doctoral student, singer, writer, performance artist and musicologist Wilfredo José Burgos Matos, Dominican dancer and instructor Noeli Nathalie Rubio Reynoso, and bachateros from our local social dance scene Jordan Alayna, Courtney Cooper-Lewter, Antonio “Chaggy” Feliz, Angel García, and Kemar Ebanks.
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Host/Producers: Andrés Hincapié, PhD; Melissa Villodas, PhD Candidate
Graphic Content Creator: Susan Mykalcio