I was introduced to bachata about 15 years ago while working at a non-profit in Washington DC. We ran soccer programs and a lot of the youth that participated were from El Salvador. They were crazy for bachata! A young man involved in our program named Juan made me a mix tape one day, half of it was bachata and the other half was hip hop. Monchy y Alexandra and Tupac on the same tape! The first song I really remember was "Hoja en Blanco." I loved it!
Later on while living in Boulder, Colorado I began learning salsa. My teacher would lead bachata line dances on occasion. Also the salsa djs would play 1 or 2 bachatas a night. While studying at CU Boulder I decided to study abroad and I chose the Dominican Republic. I wanted to improve my spanish and spend more time around the music. I spent a year studying abroad there, one semester in Santiago and one in Santo Domingo. I danced quite a lot of merengue and bachata while there.
After graduating I finished my first documentary film "La Quinceañera about a young woman going through her Quince Años (15th birthday) in Tijuana, Mexico. After that I decided to do another spanish language film this time on a bachata musician. It was a perfect choice because I loved the music and was fascinated with the Dominican Republics relationship with this wonderful dance and music born on its shores. You see bachata has a history of discrimination within the Dominican Republic itself and I found this interesting, and disturbing at times. Some where along the line it had gotten a bad name and many Dominicans associated bachata with brothels, vulgar lyrics, and people from a low economic standing. It was looked down upon by many but was popular and listened to by many more. Many would even listen to it in secret so their neighbors would not hear and gossip about them. Anyway, I had a deep interest in the music so I went in search of a musician.
I first met Joan Soriano, The Duke of Bachata, during a research trip to the Dominican Republic for a documentary film I wanted to do on an emerging bachata musician. When I set out it was my intent to travel the island, meet a lot of musicians and then decide who to continue following. I had Joan's phone number already, given to me by Benjamin de Menil who was producing an album with him. When I landed in the capital Santo Domingo I gave Joan a call and we agreed to meet. I remember that first day well! We didn't waste time and traveled 25 minutes to La Luisa, the countryside where Joan grew up. There I met his parents and many of his 14 brothers and sisters. I started filmming right away! Joan played acoustic bachata and merengues with his brother fernando on second guitar. His dad Cande danced with his daughters in the clean swept hard dirt patio and I talked to his family about various things.
After that first day I supected he would be the one to follow for the film. He was an incredibly talented, true bachatero that still had not made it big. There were many aspects of his life that highlighted what bachata is and what the muisc is all about. By learning more
about Joan I felt people could learn a lot not only about his personal story but also about bachata music and Dominican culture. Also, we quickly developed a good relationship and trust and he was open to inviting me into his home and life, which I consider a great honor. When I look back I feel so blessed to have met Joan on that trip, I don't think I could have found anyone better! He was the first bachata musician I met during my research and I didn't go in search of any other. Over the course of the next year I stayed and filmmed with him in the DR and in New York in order to get footage for the finished film in 2009. Now many people have seen the film and he has began touring with his new cd through iASO Records. He is still an emerging musician perhaps but he is much moe well known now, especially among the bachata festival community. He is great to see live because even if someone is not familiar with bachata music they sense his authenticity and talent and I think recognize they are seeing something special. Also you can't beat his smile and he's quite the character!
That is a little of what started me on this path, researching, dancing and teaching bachata. I would like to share more thoughts concerning the music and dance and look forward to updating this blog. I also have a website for the film and facebook page
Again welcome!
Hi Adam, I loved reading your blog and you did pick the perfect Bachatero musician to follow
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