Sexual Double Entendre Bachata Music, Doble Sentido

The upswing lilt of the sexual double entendre of Bachata music lifts your spirit with its playful cadence. The real impact comes, though, with the double
meanings that lie behind the words. These double meaning have slipped into many different songs (quite a few are considered classics), including
children's songs - and that other meaning is sexual in nature.

The sexual double entendre has been the silent partner of Latin music for as long as artists have been playing it. Musicians of all genres have used the
sexual double entendre in their songs. Regardless of social class, artists including Trio Matamoros, Tatico Henriquez and Johnny Ventura used it in
songs that are now considered classics.

The Dominican people, particularly the Dominican middle class, have had a love hate relationship with bachata, but this negative perception, combined
with the mixed reception of the sexual double entendre has made the music soar in popularity. It was this music that came to define the 1980's as
bachata began to mature and come into its own.

The doble sentido fad propelled by bachata music, moved a public and enticed artists with its playful double speak. The play on words, as artists
became more creative - and bolder - saw innocuous words being substituted with words that offered a more risqué meaning. The trend peaked in 1987 as
other musical fads moved in to replace it.

In an interesting twist, the bachatero who was loathed by the mainstream and forced underground, boasted Blas Duran as bachata's first superstar - also
a champion of doble sentido. Duran was an established artist of cabaret bachata as well as merengue. He had nearly two decades of recording under
his belt when he embarked on the tumultuous journey of the doble sentido bachata. He then took bachata a step farther and introduced a new style that
incorporated the use of the electric guitar in 1986. 1987 saw Duran birth modern bachata with his release of "Consejo a las mujeres."

"Consejo a las mujeres" was a turning point in the life of the modern bachata. It was the first big bachata hit and the Dominican society took notice. It is
believed that the use of the electric guitar is what catapulted its popularity. This opened the door for other performers, such as Ramon Cordero, Eladio
Romero Santos and Marino Perez to move in a new direction and approach the doble sentido.

Typical Dominican culture is rich with sexual references, regardless of social class. This is true in conversation as well as in music. Even popular artists
such as Johnny Ventura and Juan Luis Guerra have used the doble sentido in their music. Bachata, however, took this culture to a new level and boldly
placed it in plain view of the public with an "in your face" arrogance. This caused a social alienation of the genre from the media as well as the
Dominican middle class.