Reggaeton in New York City

Reggaeton Origins

Today reggaeton is some of the world’s most popular youth music, but it had a long journey through many different cultures. The lyrics and videos can be naughty and even misogynistic. But if you can get over that, it’s great music and dance.

The music has already gone through its softening phase in the same way that hard rock evolved into soft rock, and salsa dura (hard salsa) evolved into salsa romántica. It’s also become part of many urban music fusions.

The world’s youth music traveled from Jamaica, to Panama, to New York City, to Puerto Rico, and then to Colombia, and around the world.

Jamaica to Panama

Reggaeton’s story begins with Jamaican reggae and dancehall. Reggae has clave in it, the African and Diaspora bell pattern that is the base of a lot of Latin music, so reggae and Latin go well together. 🇯🇲

Jamaicans finishing the Panama Canal brought their music with them. Bus drivers hired Jamaicans to sing reggae “pregones” (advertising songs). Panamanians brought them to New York City. 🇵🇦

El General

DJ El General, a Panamanian DJ studying in New York, noticed that fans got more excited when he sang in Spanish than in Jamaican patois, so he began singing Reggae en Español. 🗽

Vico C

New York Puerto Rican Vico C brought Reggae en Español from Brooklyn to Puerto Rico where mixtape culture developed in the caserios (public housing) of barrio Puerta Tierra in San Juan. “La Recta Final” (1994) was his first chart. You can hear the New York hip hop influence. At first the Puerto Rican government tried to ban and shut it down. That never works. 🇵🇷

Don Omar, from Villa Palmeras, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, picked up from Vico C. Villa Palmeras produces many famous musicians.

Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee coined the term “reggaeton.” His 2004 global hit “Gasolina” introduced the rhythm to the world. 🇵🇷

The music jumped to Medellín, Colombia. 🇨🇴

Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” got the entire world singing in Spanish in 2017. The video was shot in La Perla, the beautiful shantytown outside the walls of Old San Juan. 🇵🇷

Reggaeton is now the global sound of today’s youth. Kids everywhere listen and dance to it, and it keeps growing and changing.

Dem Bow

Dominican dem bow is an interesting offshoot from barrio Capotillo 42, one of the most disadvantaged and dangerous neighborhoods in Santo Domingo. Dem bow lyrics and videos are extremely naughty, misogynistic, and promote bad behavior ~ even worse than reggaeton. But if you can get over that, the music and dance are great. It’s the sound Dominican youth today, and Puerto Ricans are visiting Capotillo 42 to make music with the Dominicans. Rauw Alejandro and Angel Dior’s “Tamo en Nota” is a great example of this.

Perreo

Perreo is the reggaeton dance. It’s booty shaking and if she wants to, a woman will rub her butt on her partner. It looks naughty, but the woman is in control. Women often dance with each other. A skilled dancer can make her butt cheeks move as if they have lives of their own.

Americans call it twerking, but generally look funny doing it, and don’t move with the same feeling. Perreo is kind of silly in a club because you have to stay cool, but with a skilled dancer you care about, in private at home, it’s special. Oh. ¡Agua!

“Perreo” derives from “perra” or bitch because a female dog will mate with most any dog. Careful, perra can be very rude in Spanish.

In the reggaeton context, perreo is from Puerto Rico, but the movements are actually common in puberty rituals in Mother Africa and many cultures around the world. In general the European Diaspora is uptight about hip motion, but the African Diaspora is not. It’s natural. There is nothing new under the sun.