Blas duran biography of william

Nowadays when you hear the term “Modern Bachata,” you think of musicians like Jr, Aventura, Romeo Santos, and Prince Royce.

But that’s really Modern Bachata 2.0.

Blas duran biography of william

Bachata has been modernized before and you probably didn’t even realize it because many people call it “Traditional Bachata.” (Aside - this is precisely why many refuse to add this modifier to the name of Bachata.)

Let’s get some perspective first before I dive all the way in.

The first song later considered to be Bachata was released 60 years ago by José Manuel Calderón (1962). However, its style was essentially still Bolero Campesino. When I play the original version of “Condena” to my Bachata students, they can hardly believe it’s Bachata.

Over the next 15-20 years, Bachata would slowly distinguish itself from its mother genre by refining rhythms, changing up rhythms between the rhythmic sections, and exploring faster tempos.

In the late 80s, th