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nostalgia and suffering that characterized their music, … the term bachata​ ​provided Dominicans
with an appealing continuity between the traditional informal family and neighborhood parties of
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the same name and the music that grew out of them.” The term bachata and its cultural
implication began paving the way for bachata’s future cultural significance. Nevertheless,
amargue​ henceforth became a more acceptable, interchangeable term.
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Bachata’s appeal initially relied on its ability to relate to people of ​campesino and
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barrio roots; which was roughly 70 percent of the country in 1960. Twenty­five years of
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migration followed the death of Trujillo. With many Dominicans moving from the ​campo to
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Santo Domingo, the population of the capital doubled as did bachata’s target audience. Seeking
previously inaccessible work opportunities, these migrants brought their music along. For
example, in her work Julie Sellers describes domestic workers basically making it a condition to
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have a radio for working comfortably. With bachata playing in the kitchens of these
middle­class homes, it slowly began making its mark on higher classes. Having this new
presence of bachata in Santo Domingo, ​bachateros​ began gaining access to larger and more
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diverse audiences, first in the 1990s with provincial ​fiestas patronales​. Deborah Pacini
Hernandez recounts that, at that time, bachata also began to transcend the boundaries of the
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shantytown, receiving some attention on major urban FM stations and upscale venues.
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​Pacini Hernandez 14.
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​People from the countryside.
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High poverty­level neighborhood.
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​The countryside, or rural areas.
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​Pacini Hernandez 74.
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​Julie A. Sellers, ​Bachata and Dominican Identity / La Bachata Y La Identidad Dominicana ​(2014) 51.
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Patron saints’ festivals.
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​Pacini Hernandez 29.
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