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Abstract
The Puerto Rican cuatro has served as one of the most important musical instruments in the Hispanophone Caribbean. In addition to its national context, this instrument can also function as a tool for promoting and disseminating transculturation in music. In this study, I concentrate my attention on discussing the past and present theories of transculturation. By accomplishing this task, I attempt to establish possible connections to this theory and music composition by referring to pivotal moments in Puerto Rican history and using the cuatro as a musical guide. Additionally, I provide a more detailed look at the significance and origins of the cuatro stringed instrument from the perspective of music composition. I discuss the challenges of classifying the Puerto Rican cuatro, as well as explain the rudiments of its notation and range when writing for this instrument. Additionally, I provide readers with explanations concerning contemporary techniques that composers can apply to the cuatro in twenty-first century classical music. In order to accurately illustrate the techniques mentioned in this study, I frequently refer to my accompanying chamber piece Estampas de La Isla del Encanto (2015-16). Explaining the compositional processes that I adhere to in this work enables readers to explore the musical and technical approaches that I use and the preexisting compositions that I have followed as models for inspiration.I focus on three main goals in this study. First, I uncover information (and gaps) about the Puerto Rican cuatro. Second, I discuss the theories and criticisms of transculturation. Lastly, I apply transculturation to the field of music composition by demonstrating the compositional potential of the cuatro as an instrument for contemporary classical music. In addressing these goals, I also provide a condensed history of Puerto Rico (from Pre-Columbian times, to the twenty-first century). I additionally demonstrate that the extant literature concerning the cuatro presents an indirect transcultural narrative about the instrument in Puerto Rican society. In representing the Taino, European, African, and North American impact on the island, I illustrate that all of these cultures have contributed in some form to Puerto Rican history and music culture.