Puerto Rico Research Paper

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Puerto Rican Reggaeton Puerto Rico is a United Stated territory located in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. The island was first inhabited by the Ortoriod people. At the time of Christopher Columbus, the dominant culture was that of the Tainos. Their numbers dwindled in the later half of the 16th century due to new diseases carried by Europeans, exploitation by Spanish settlers, and warfare. The Spanish arrival in 1493 basically marked the beginning of their extinction. Their culture, however, remains part of that of contemporary Puerto Rico. The Spanish settlers took natives to be slaves and pressure from the Roman Catholic Church ended the exploitation. The church had a huge hand in colonizing the island. African slaves…show more content…
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, many attacks were aimed towards the island. The 19th century brought many changes to Puerto Rico. The Royal Decree of Grace was issued allowing foreigners to enter and opened the ports to trade with nations other than Spain. This created a flow of immigrants to the island. Puerto Rico also had many uprisings and revolts again the Spanish Monarchy. By April of 1890, the Spanish-American war broke out. From this, Puerto Rico was succeeded to the United States through the Treaty of Paris. Because of Puerto Rico’s rich history. Their music is influenced by many factors. The Tainos people introduced musical instruments such as the maracas or the güiro, which is a hollow gourd with parallel notches in one side. Noise is made by scraping up and down in long and short strokes. African culture has been infused into the island through slavery. Spanish culture is still very strong in the area and Latin rhythms are the basis for the music in the area. Becoming a territory of the U.S. brought American influence into Puerto Rican music…show more content…
It also has American rap stylings. It started in Peurto Rico and Panama. The instruments used resemble those used in typical Caribbean music like calypso or soca. Very strong percussion patterns using kick drums, snare drums, and palitos are typical of Reggaeton. Palitos are two sticks that are banged together. The lyrics resemble hip hop lyrics. Vocalists often rap rather than sing. Reggaeton follows traditional pop structure of verses, choruses, and bridges and often has a catchy hook. Latino ethnic identity or nationalism is a common theme in the music. Also, in recent years, the genre has taken a more electronic feel. This is Daddy Yankee is a native of Puerto Rico, born in San Juan and raised in the projects. He aspired to be a professional baseball player and tried out for the Seattle Mariners. Before he was officially signed, he was hit by a stray bullet form an AK-47 while taking a break from recording. He spent one and a half years recovering from the wound and the bullet was never removed from his hip. He credits the shooting with allowing him to focus on his music career. In 2004, he released “Gasolina” which soon became a mega-hit and introduced the world to Reggaeton.

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