Thursday, October 27, 2011
Cubaton
I wanted to expand upon the mention of 'Cubaton' in my reading report. There have been attempts to make the Dominican and Puerto Rican-based reggaeton more traditionally Cuban, by infusing it with timbales, salsa and timba (like the timba-reggaeton example I presented in class). Cubaton is often more melodic than reggaeton. Its lyrics are also generally less violent than those found in Dominican and Puerto Rican reggaeton. However, even though it is more nationalistic, it still has little official radio support and is distributed in largely the same ways as reggaeton--through informal, amateur systems. Generally, the thought is, unless reggaeton is "polished" by professional, state-sponsored musicians, even a name change like 'Cubaton' won't help its case with the Cuban government. However, that doesn't stop it from being one of the most popular sub-genres in Cuba. The video above, "Amigos" by Eddy K, is one of the most popular examples of Cubaton.
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Matt,
ReplyDeleteThank you man! This video is solidifying my favorite thing about Cuban music so far....it's honesty.
I think calling it 'Cubaton' is kind of funny, but anyway I find a lot of similarities and differences between 'Cubaton' and reggaeton. Cubaton still has that repetitive beat like reggaeton, but it's a little slower and less danceable than reggaeton. I also noticed that in the video there is not as many women in provocative clothing as there are in reggaeton. The area where the video was shot reminds me of the movie we watched last class that took place in Havana. I think I like this style a little more than other styles in Cuba we have seen so far.
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