Gabriel Guzman, a Mexican immigrant, teaches Latin music in Corona. PHOTO: Michelle Wong

Gabriel Guzman, 28, a Mexican music teacher who came to Corona a year and a half ago, shares Bassanini’s passion for music. Although many Latin American countries have their own particular music styles — such as salsa in Cuba, cumbia in Colombia, tango in Argentina and bachata in the Dominican Republic — he says that regardless of nationality, Hispanics enjoy all of them. Guzman looks up to masters such as Silvio Rodriguez, Pablo Milanes and Juan Luis Guerra — Latin folk singers who are household names from Miami to Buenos Aires.

North American folk singer Paul Simon put Corona on the musical map in 1971 when he sang "Goodbye Rosie, the queen of Corona" in his hit "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard." Corona is now home to immigrants from the Middle East, China and Russia, but Latin Americans dominate the neighborhood and its music scene.

Nearly 60,000 Hispanics lived in the area in 1990, out of a total population of 135,000. Recent figures show that the neighborhood gained close to 10,000 Hispanic immigrants in 1995 and 1996. The neighborhood covers almost three square miles and is cut in half by the No. 7 train. Low-rise apartments and small homes with backyards and driveways dot the area. On commercial strips, loud, pounding music accompanies vendors selling tacos from trucks and grocers unloading yuca and platinos.


Juan Zaruma owns Mirella Records, a Latin music store in Corona. PHOTO: Victoria Marcinkowski

At Juan Zaruma's Mirella record store in the heart of Corona, people mellow out on music and peruse the South American CDs that line the walls. The record store is one of many in Corona. Zaruma and his wife, Zoila Zaruma, attract customers by blaring music that wafts out into the street. The couple sings along when a favorite song comes up on the store's stereo. "This is the good stuff," Zoila says, swaying to a salsa CD.


Zoila Zaruma plays loud salsa music in her store. PHOTO: Michelle Wong

Despite Latin music's popularity in Corona, Guzman and others worry that younger immigrants from Latin America will forget their musical roots and consume American hip-hop and rock. "The parents still like the old songs, but many kids grow up listening to [North] American music," Guzman says. "You don't want to lose that tie to your roots." He laughs when asked if Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican pop star who has crossed over into mainstream American music, is representative of Latin American music. "That's not the real thing," he says, shaking his head. "The best music in Spanish is never heard by Americans."

  

 


A Taste of Music

Listen to samples of Hispanic songs.



Merengue CDs are hot sellers in Corona. PHOTO: Victoria Marcinkowski

By Michelle Wong

South American countries have developed distinctive forms of popular Latin music. A sampling:

· SALSA (Cuba) — dance music incorporating rhythms from Africa and the Caribbean, plus big-band dance melodies from Cuba. Jazz and rock elements are also included. The word "salsa" means "sauce" or "gravy," an apropos description for this creativity-inspiring, smoldering and up-tempo form that emerged in the 1960s.

· BACHATA (Dominican Republic) — a guitar-based musical form that incorporates maracas and bongos. Until the 1990s, bachata was considered a dirty version of the merengue and unfit for public consumption. Radio wouldn't play it, the press ignored it and record stores refused to stock it. It was forced underground, where it played a big role at neighborhood bars and local gatherings.

· MERENGUE (Dominican Republic) — many countries have this kind of dance music that emerged around 1800. With its quick 2/4 rhythm, the modern merengue is a country form incorporating accordions, metal scrapers, tambora drums and human voices.

· RANCHERA (Mexico) — equivalent to country music in the United States, this folksy, emotional form utilizes characteristic dying falls (held notes) at the end of its lines. It came out of the nationalist theater during the post-1910 revolution period.

· CUMBIA (Colombia) — first a coastal Colombian and an Afro-Panamanian folk dance, it is arguably the most popular dance form in Latin America.

· PASILLO (Colombia and Equador) — moderately slow dance music derived from the 19th century European waltz. Unlike the European versions, however, pasillo’s rhythm doesn’t stress the downbeat.

· TANGO (Argentina) — popular ballroom dance music that developed in the early 20th century. Couples perform the tango at a slow walking pace to music in simple duple (double) time. Tango’s rhythm is taken from habanera music from Cuba and milonga music from Argentina.

SOURCES: Gabriel Guzman, "The Latin Tinge, " "A Cultural History of Latin Music," "The Oxford Dictionary of Music," "The Oxford Companion to Music" and "The American Heritage Dictionary"