carta - TT: From the Editor… - Artículo Breve

Latin Beat Magazine, Feb, 2001 by Rudy Mangual

The perception of music by human beings is as natural as the act of breathing. Auding or the process of hearing, recognizing, and interpreting sounds or a spoken language, is systemized by the human brain as sound waves that are approximate frequencies of 15 to 20,000 cycles per second. All musical genres, forms and styles are perceived equally (as sound waves) by our brain. So this being the case, why do we prefer some musical genres and styles to others? Aside from social and ambient induced disciplines or even genetic imprint qualities, it's the rhythm of music that truly reaches the heart and soul. The recurring alternation of strong and weak elements in the flow of sound is what is referred to as rhythm. The natural flow of a beat within a forward movement pattern also describes rhythm. The effect of rhythm in music is that pulsating meter which makes us tap our feet, move our body, and feel in sync with the music.

In Latin music, rhythm goes even beyond the norm, taking the soul and the body of the listener to exotic, mystical, and forbidden places. The blending of African with European rhythms in the Caribbean and throughout most of Latin America created some of the most addictive and delicious rhythms in the world. Afro-Caribbean rhythms from Cuba like the son montuno, guaguancó and the rumba have flourished greatly throughout Latin America, due to their infectious beats. Puerto Rico's interpretations of Afro-Caribbean as well as their own rhythms (plena, bomba, danza, etc.) and New York City's Latin music scene, set the stage for the salsa explosion of the 1970s. Once again, it was the blending of rhythms (Afro-Caribbean with urban North American) that came together to help forge the salsa movement dance craze, still very prevalent worldwide. The growing popularity for over 25 years of the Dominican Republic's merengue music is due in part to the simplicity of its rhythm. The merengue's simple tribal beat possesses an extremely contagious cadence, similar to that of an accelerated heartbeat. This same phenomenon is present in many of the complex forms of Brazilian rhythms like the bossa and the batukada. Ranging from 100 to 130 rpm, dancing or even just listening to these rhythms will immediately raise your blood pressure. As we like to say, unless you are dead to the world, you will move or groove to the beat. This is what makes the majority of Latin music so hot and special to many of us. If it sounds like something you may be interested in learning more about, then you are reading the right magazine.

As we enter our 11th year in this Volume 11, Number 1, February 2001 issue of Latin Beat Magazine, you can meet one of Cuba's most prominent vocalists, Issac Delgado. Read about Mexico's late legendary vocal star Toña La Negra, and the late Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez from New York City. Fill up with information in the CD reviews, columns from Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Puerto Rico.

We like to dedicate this issue to the memory of the many artists who have passed away in the past couple of months: Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, Libertad Lamarque, Johnny "La Vaca" Rodríguez, Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, Yayo El Indio, and Martín Arroyo.