The Caribbean rhythms they are usually a mixture of "flavor" with high doses of sensuality. Catchy melodies, easy to learn, but mostly made for dancing. The Dembow is no exception.
The Dembow has a marked influence of rap and hip hop, its simple and even elemental cadence makes it a natural music for dance.
Su origin must be located in Jamaica in the mid-80s. Part of its base is in the music of this island, genres such as reggae and "dancehal", both born from the fusion of American elements (rhythm and blues, rock and roll and soul), with African elements and distinctly Caribbean sounds such as the soca and the Calypso.
Although the Dembow as we know it today, was forged in the Dominican Republic, within the poorest neighborhoods of Santo Domingo.
Dembow and Reggaetón or the dilemma of who came first: the chicken or the egg
Many specialists in Caribbean rhythms locate the melodic base of reggaetón across beats of Dembow, but for the defenders of the “king” of “Latin urban” genres it is much more than that.
The reality is that both styles are "derived" from reggae, also considered as two of the latin responses to hip hop and rap, and began to take their final shape in the mid-90s.
Puerto Rico with reggaeton (although it was born in Panama, its development and evolution would take place in "La Isla del Encanto") and the Dominican Republic with Dembow, they would reissue another musical battle to impose the emblematic rhythm of the Caribbean, like the one already experienced between La Salsa and El Merengue.
Sex, drugs and alcohol Vs The Voice of the poor and marginalized
Caribbean and Latino urban rhythms have been crossed out many times as inciters to violence, odes to explicit sex, machismo, misogynistic lyrics and in which crime and death are the center of the universe.
Many point out that the great commercial success of the reggaeton It was because they started moderate song lyrics, which allowed most of the artists of the genre to sound on all radio frequencies without suffering censorship.
For much of the public, Dembow is nothing more than a slower reggaeton (in terms of rhythm), built on the basis of electronic instruments (synthesizers, drum machine and sampler), and above all, more violent.
But for those who have taken this rate as their object of study, this explicit violence, as well as their "lack of modesty" to talk about sex, are due to the fact that it is the voice of the people themselves, of the marginalized, of the least favored inhabitants, the one heard in each of the songs.
The perreo: what was given is over
If Dembow is a rhythm with a certain insurrectionary character, the way it is danced is a declaration of war against "good manners" and "morals”. its irreverence, his shamelessness It is such that a popular saying very typical of many Latin American and Caribbean countries applies to it: “what was given is over”.
The name itself is already quite eloquent. In fact, to the discos and nightclubs of Santo Domingo, San Juan, Cartagena, Miami or Caracas where Dembow is heard (and to a large extent, also reggaeton) You do not go to dance, but to "perrear".
Its English version is the grinding, twerking, freak dancing o booty dancing.
Quick definition of Perreo: "Epileptic" movements, lascivious and sensual, with a very high erotic load and excessive imitation of sexual positions. The base choreography is the representation of the Intercourse with Tergo, or what is the same, the position of the dog or on "all fours", a direct evocation of the act of copulation in canines.
From there, practically everything is allowed, including extreme positions such as the gentleman lying on his back on the dance floor and the lady kneeling on top, vigorously shaking her hips. Another "alarming" feature for all the detractors of these practices is that the Genital contact is not only allowed, but is expressly sought. For this reason, this dance is also known as “sex with clothes” or “dressed sex”.
Good part of the controversies around the Dembow have been because of the perreo, rather than because of its shameless lyrics. And they have taken place throughout the entire American continent, from the United States to Argentina.
What the songs say
"Leave the package, mommy cool, I'm clear about you. You are crazy to go to bed with the Super MC. Come and sing your concert live, I don't want a CD, with the same microphone that I pee with ... "
Fragment I kiss you, by Shelow Shaq.
"If you singas (are) mine ..."
Phrase included in Of mine by Monkey Black.
These kinds of phrases are common to the Dembow, enough to hurt any ear too conservative.
However, some sociologists settle the controversy about what is said through this genre, stating that criticism should not be used for criticism, or censorship for censorship. They assure that, in any case, These cultural manifestations (like all) are nothing more than a reflection of society. What I know must investigate is what is behind. In order for the lyrics of the “urban genres” not to be violent, misogynistic, sexist or praise for drugs, the way of life of the population must be changed.
Veteran musicians like the Dominican merenguero wilfrido vargas takes the matter much further. The author of the also controversial merengue (for sexist) Doggy dance, Said that Dembow cannot even be taken as music and is also harmful to health. Others are pragmatic in their considerations and point out that, by the simple fact of having sound and time, it is enough to classify it as a musical genre.
But beyond controversies and controversies, Dembow is one of the most danced rhythms in the world. In Spain there are several nightclubs where you can go to perrea.
And in Madrid there is a whole movement of bands made up of local young people, many of them with Dominican roots and from other countries in the Caribbean basin, who compete to position themselves as the greatest exponents of the Dembow on this side of the Atlantic.
Image sources: Zone 105FM / Spain in EL PAÍS / YouTube