Music & Gender

I would like to open this topic by starting to talk about a very traditional holiday in Spain that is celebrated on June 24 called "San Juan." These festivities have been famous throughout the years and there is a place in Spain where it is celebrated with a little more enthusiasm than in other places, this place is called Menorca and it is part of the Balearic Islands. Nowadays many people from all over Spain go to Menorca on the 24th of June to see the celebration of San Juan.

It is a very beautiful and peculiar celebration, there is a musical band along with horses with riders and a donkey. The horses train all year round just for that date and pass among the people while the band performs a very unique and typical melody of San Juan thanks to a typical instrument of Menorca called "flabiol" which is very similar to a flute but short and is played with one hand. The band also plays instruments such as drums, cymbals and trumpets.

I usually go every year and this past summer I went, the experience is unique: at first you feel silence and excitement in the crowd. Suddenly, the soft sound of the fabiol and the drum. It's the "first touch," the party has begun. What I learned this year that I did not know before, is that the riders who star in the party, can only be men, women are not allowed since the creation of the party until today in 2022, the truth is that I was very surprised and they call it as tradition. Besides to be able to be a rider of these horses you must inherit the position of a relative of yours who has already been part of the riders.





Another topic I would like to talk about is the Regaeton. Regaeeton was born in Jamaica. Today it is the most listened music style by Spanish speakers. Throughout the years it has been causing a lot of controversy because it was said that these songs sexualize women too much because the lyrics of some of them say rude things to women or treat them as sexual objects. From my point of view, about 10 years ago Reggaeton was somehow more romantic and spoke to women in the songs in a very nice way and with a lot of respect. Nowadays I have heard some songs on this subject that have had a lot of controversy because of the amount of ugly words that are directed towards the supposed 'lover' or sometime towards the 'ex lover' of the author.

As you will see in the song below "Adicto" by Anuel AA, the main theme of reggeaton songs is love/lovelessness and sex, that's why this type of song is so popular for Hispanic parties. Normally older people don't like this kind of music because they are used to listen to more elaborate melodies with much more beautiful words to dedicate to a woman.








Comentarios

  1. Tessa Kramer12 de octubre de 2022 a las 10:50

    Hey Joan, I appreciated learning about your cultures traditions- it surprised me that the riders not only had to be men, but had to be grandfathered into the tradition. Do you think that will ever change?

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  2. Anónimo12 de octubre de 2022 a las 11:20

    Hey Joan! Thank you for sharing about your personal cultural traditions. I appreciate getting the opportunity to learn more about your culture. I found it really interesting that the riders had to be all men.

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  3. Amanda Breona13 de octubre de 2022 a las 18:37

    It was interesting reading your cultural traditions, especially on reggaeton i have a lot of family and friends who love this type of music

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  4. Emily Whitlow15 de octubre de 2022 a las 18:57

    Hey!! I thought that it was really cool learning about a tradition that you have back home! I think it's interesting that it is the first year that women are allowed to be riders. I think that it would be really cool to learn more about this tradition.

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  5. Nashayla Warren15 de octubre de 2022 a las 19:19

    Hello Joan! I think it’s great that patriarchal ways are finally going away. I would love to learn more about why this was not allowed for women. As someone who heavily listens to Jamaican/Ragae/Raggeton I agree that it can over sexualize women, focusing on their “goods” and not their hearts.

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  6. Aiden Ayala18 de octubre de 2022 a las 16:53

    I loved learning about your cultural traditions back home! It was very surprising to me that all riders had to be men and that it's the first year that women are allowed to be riders. My family also loves reggeaton!

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