This week we’re throwing it way back to the origins of bachata. We’re talking about the legendary Jose Manuel Calderon, the man responsible for making bachata part of the common vernacular. Why bachata this week? This week’s entry in our Summer Essentials series came from none other than Romeo Santos, the current King of Bachata (read here). So let’s bring it back to the beginning and the first bachata single ever released.
Calderon was born in the Dominican Republic in 1941. He began recording music in his late teen years and released his first single at 21. Calderon is known as the Father of Dominican Bachata. Bachata became marginalized in the 1970s, eventually experiencing a revival in the early 90s with Juan Luis Guerra at the helm (a past Throwback Thursday post). Bachata marginalization, due to it’s relation to poverty and prostitution, harmed Calderon’s reputation. This caused Calderon to move to New York City where he witnessed the grow of the Washington Heights community.
Calderon was unique amongst artists of his era for singing in a baritone register instead of a higher, tenor register. This helped to elevate his music and influence. Jose Manuel Calderon is still alive and recording tracks as of a few years ago.
“Borracho de Amor”, which translates to “drunk on love”, is the first bachata single ever released. The composition is different than modern bachata. We are able to trace bachata’s lineage back to this song, however. Since bachata was in its infancy as Calderon recorded, this track was initially considered a bolero. But the song was highly inventive. The usage of the güira was a massive innovation. Calderon would go on to add string and horn sections to his songs. This marked a major development in the genre.
From 1962, “Borracho De Amor”.