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Reenactment of a ritual ceremony at the Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center in Ponce

Early Manifestations

Since prehistoric times, dance has always existed on our island. The earliest dances documented by the cronistas de Indias [early historians describing the newly "discovered" Indies] were the areito (sometimes spelled areyto or areíto), dances that were chanted by a chorus, set to music, and led by a guide. Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo called them "bailar cantando" ["singing dances," or "to dance while singing"], which was common among the indigenous groups of the region. The areito was danced in a line, with the participants holding hands, linking their arms, or according to Bartolomé de las Casas, "the arms of some placed on the shoulders of the others." Pedro Mártir de Anglería tells us that the participants wore shells on their arms and legs, using them to make "a pleasant noise." They told a story while the guide indicated which steps and songs to repeat until the story was finished.

When the Conquistadors arrived, the indigenous population quickly began to disappear, and with them vanished any autochthonous cultural expression that the authorities deemed pagan. Even so, Fray Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra affirmed in 1789 that "the most appreciable pastime for these island people are their dances; they have them for no other reason than to while away the time, and rarely are they missing on one occasion or another."

Criollo Dances

Later, other dances that appeared on the island and took root and developed in the mountains, on the coast, and in urban centers were brought by the Spanish and by African slaves; by immigrants from the Antilles, such as the French or the English; by Latin Americans fleeing various wars of independence; and from 1898 on, by North Americans. Little ethnographic and anthropological research has been done, but some scholars observe a difference between the dances from the Lesser Antilles and those from the Greater Antilles, especially from Haiti, with its strong French influence and view of dance as a manifestation of a social code of manners and proper behavior.

Dances of European origin that became popular among the campesinos [peasants] from the mountains and the central part of the island include the waltzwaltz: 1. A dance for couples that originated in Germany and Austria. The rhythm is moderate, and the dancers execute smooth and elegant circular movements. The dance originated in the late 18th century and became the most sophisticated and refined form of ballroom dancing. The music has a 3/4 meter. 2. Music of this dance., the mazurka, the lancer (a combination of quadrilles), the rigadoonrigadoon: 1. Old country dance from Provence that was quite popular in the 18th century. The lively and festive dance is executed by four or more couples to music in 2/4 time. 2. Music for this dance, usually in rapid duple meter., and the contradanse (the so-called country dance). Among the campesinos these dances rapidly acquired distinctive features of rhythm, instrumentation, interpretation, and even dress. The seis is the most important. Manuel Alonso, in El gíbaro (1849), classified it as one of the garabato dances, a dance "of the people of inferior class and from the country" as opposed to the dances of higher society. The name "seis" [six] comes from the participation of six couples who begin the dance in a line with the men facing the women. The lines cross, the dancers stamp their feet, and at the end the couples waltz, while songs (are sung) of love and spite.

Another important dance is the bomba, a generic term, according to Nydia Ríos, covering a number of dances of campesino, African, and Hispanic-Central American origin. The Afro-Puerto Rican bombas, developed in the sugarcane haciendas of Loíza and the northeastern coastal areas, in Guayama and in southern Puerto Rico, utilize barrel drums and tambourines, while the campesino version uses stringed instruments.

The Puerto Rican danza, the dance itself and its musical form, is considered the most refined of the dances. Its inspiration supposedly comes from the Cuban habanera, or perhaps from the South American one; in any case, it achieved its own style, with two distinct divisions. During the first part, to the steady cadence of the music, the couples promenade around the room; during the second, with a lively rhythm called merenguemerengue: 1. Second part of the danza which is danceable. 2. Popular dance popularized in the Dominican Republic, they dance in a closed ballroom position. Captain General Juan de la Pezuela considered this position "a depravity of manners" and prohibited the practice in 1849, under penalty of ten days in jail for those who permitted the dance in their homes. The people, however, ignored the proscription, making it obsolete though never repealed.

The plena, dating from the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, is the last of the national dances to emerge before the change of sovereignty in 1898 and the beginning of the influence of the U.S. It was a sort of sung newscast that mainly came from the coastal area, although there is evidence that it was danced in inland regions as well. It was also the first Puerto Rican rhythm to gain popularity beyond our own island and to influence the music of other countries.

In addition, dances from elsewhere were imported to Puerto Rico, including the bolero, the mambo, the cha-cha and the guarachaguaracha: A fast-paced Cuban dance of Andalusian origin, in which the music has a 2/4 or 4/8 meter., as well as dances from the U.S. Today, Puerto Ricans dance to salsa, rock, reggaetón and, especially, merengue, while dances such as the pasodoble and even the plena are disappearing.

Research in Folklore

Beginning in the 1950s with the creation of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, a surge in anthropological consciousness led to an interest in rescuing these dances and rhythms. The dance company Areyto, directed by Irene McLean, was founded—the first dance troupe devoted exclusively to folk dances. Its productions presented costumbrista sketches that recreated the dances, usually in chronological order. Many others have copied this model, most of them amateur groupsamateur groups: Itinerant actors that make a living in some other occupation.; with a few exceptions such as the Grupo Guateque, there is usually little or no serious attempt at research.

There are many groups performing the bomba, and they originally came from the regions from which the genre sprang. Because these areas remained isolated to a large degree, the authenticity of the dances was preserved for a longer time, at least until the development of mass communication. Recent interest in the politics of identity has revived the desire to learn about and practice these dances. Today, the production and staging of the dances lean more toward the theatrical than toward true folklore, for which reason all sorts of modifications and innovations are being introduced.