Dominican Rock (known as "Rock Dominicano" in
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
) is
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...
created by
Dominican groups and soloists. Originating in the 1980s with the start of Luis Dias' band
Transporte Urbano,
successful bands such as ''Tribu Del Sol'', ''
Toque Profundo'' and ''
Tabu Tek'' began to emerge. ''Dominican rock'' is listened to by the youth of the Dominican Republic who have embraced the music, sometimes over
merengue and
bachata
Bachata may refer to:
* Bachata (music), a genre of Latin American music
**Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music
* Bachata (dance), a dance style from the Dominican Republic
* Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style
* "Bachata ...
.
Rita Indiana y los Misterios are a musical group known for their blend of traditional merengue music with rock.
Subgenres of Dominican rock
The styles of rock bands from the Dominican Republic differ greatly. Not only is there regular Spanish
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...
, there are also subgenres such as
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
,
punk,
emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
, and
metal
A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
. Most songs are sung in Spanish, though some bands (like ALF, Mithril, and 42-01 for instance) also sing in English.
Live
Although the rock scene stays local and rarely goes international, it is large within the Dominican Republic, especially in the nation's capital,
Santo Domingo
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional)
, webs ...
. Several bands as JLS (Spain), Transporte Urbano (U.S.A & Cuba) Sister Madness (Canada), ALF (USA), Pericles (USA, Costa Rica), Dark Miracle (USA), Cevix (Santo Domingo/USA), Los Pérex (USA, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama) La Armada (USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico), Bocatabú (USA, Puerto Rico), Futuros Divorciados (USA, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panamá), Dronk (USA) and Santuario (Puerto Rico)'' have traveled to other countries to play. Many concerts are held in the indoor auditorium of the
Domínico Americano, a local school. Bands of many different genres of Dominican rock play there. Some artists who have played there are'' "spam"'', ''González'', ''Sociedad Tabú'', ''Shido'', ''
TKR'', ''Toque Profundo'', ''Cronicas del Eco'', and ''Nux''. Within the
punk scene, there are a few venues which are regularly used for concerts. One of the most popular venues was Donde L'Abuela, a house which is regularly volunteered for concerts, as well as a small bar called Stilo Club, where bands such as ''Los Pérex, La Reforma, La Armada, Pericles, Shido and Mulligan'' have played. Nowadays, there are venues like Shots Bar, Cinema Café, Casa de teatro, Hard Rock Café Santo Domingo, Hard Rock Café Punta Cana which serves as the actual rock scene.
Awards and music videos
The
Premios Cassandra (now referred to as
Premios Soberano, an award ceremony, is held yearly. There have also been many successful music videos in production. The most popular and considered best video is "Suele Pasar" by La Siembra, directed by Tabare Blanchard, who also directed "Pa´ Que No Pienses" by Calor Urbano. Dominican rock videos are played on many local music channels, and are also played in some other South American countries.
See also
*
Rock en español
Rock en español () is a term used widely in the English-speaking world to refer to any kind of rock music featuring Spanish vocals. Compared to English-speaking bands, very few acts reached worldwide success or between Spanish-speaking countri ...
*
Rita Indiana y los Misterios
*
Dronk
References
External links
Revista 360Colectivo Cero - Arts & EventsDominicanStreet.com - Rock Dominicano 24/7RepublicAlternativa.com - Libertad de Expresión CulturalAvanzadaMetallica.net - Dominican Metal Radio Program and Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominican Rock
*
Rock music by country
Dominican styles of music