On Saturday, 8 December 2018, a street in Washington Heights in New York City was renamed to honor the late Dominican singer and composer Luis “El Terror” Dias. Dias is known as the father of Dominican rock, and is best regarded for his influence in traditional and alternative music styles in the Dominican Republic.
The street is the corner of 165th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Washington Heights is known for its large Dominican immigrant population. Dias is always remembered for the catch phrase of the carnival hymn: “Baila en la calle de noche, baila en la calle de día. ”
As reported by Remezcla, the unveiling marked the anniversary of Dias’s death, was an evening of celebration and live music, storytelling and a sense of nostalgia taking place at the Word Up Community Bookshop that is located on the same intersection as the renamed street.
Remezcla recalls that in the 70s and 80s, Días created a sound that was unprecedented in the Dominican Republic. He is remembered for his fusing disparate instruments and styles, pioneering polyrhythms by, for example, playing an electric guitar on a merengue track. A student of Dominican folklore, Días blended traditional genres like bachata, salves, and more with reggae, jazz and beyond in his repertoire, highlights Remezcla.
“Even the professional Dominican musicians would be confused about that and say ‘What? I can’t play this,’ and he just really shook things up,” said his partner Laura Sklar during the presentation. “He considered himself un marginado — on the margins, both culturally, and in class. And it’s all in his music.”
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Remezcla
13 December 2018
