If Puerto Rico's bomba music is more purely African in its origin, plena combines elements from the island's wider cultural melting pot, a blend of African and Spanish traditions. There are several theories regarding the origin of plena. Some say that the areitos, which were the indigenous dance tunes of the island, may have been the aboriginal inspiration to plena, which became modified by Afro-Caribbean instruments and rhythms and Spanish melodic and poetic forms. Plena may also be related to similar forms found in Trinidad and Barbados, and the rhythm was allegedly created by a black couple from Barbados who lived in the Joya del Castillo section of Ponce at the turn of the century.
Regardless of its exact origin, plena first appeared at the close of the 19th century, during the change from Spanish to American colonial rule and the abolition of slavery in the sugar growing areas in the Southern coast of the island. During that time displaced sugar-cane workers from the island and from the English-speaking Caribbean began to seek opportunities in the bourgeoning cities. The genre became most closely associated with the city of Ponce, where performing and dancing plena became the hallmark of Afro-Spanish traditions.
Much of the charm of plena lies in its narrative character. It is often called el periódico cantado (the sung newspaper) because it comments on current events, scandals, politics and everyday life in the barrio, and was used to spread messages among the people, in similar fashion to the Mexican corrido. Performing and dancing plena became a commentary on local news and events as the singers/troubadours recited events and often satirized local politicians and scandals. As with the bomba, the plena continued to move with the migrant workers to San Juan and other urban areas where it became part of the culture and street music of the city, and a reflection of the unique Puerto Rican blend of African, Jibaro, Taíno and European elements.
Instruments used in traditional plena represent the indigenous, Spanish and African constituents of Puerto Rico's creolized society. Plena usually includes two or three panderos—single-headed, hand-held frame drums of North African Moor origin that were brought to Puerto Rico by the Spanish. The panderos come in different sizes and pitches: from low to high, they are called seguidor, segundo (or punteador) and the requinto, each playing a different complementary rhythm in 2/4. The rhythmic patterns are of African origin and are related to calypso and reggae of the English-speaking Caribbean. The guiro—one of the few remnants of the Taíno heritage present in the island's music—is a dried out gourd whose surface is notched with parallel grooves, and when it is rubbed with a stick produces a rhythmical percussive noise. The seguidor and the segundo along with the güiro establish the basic rhythmic pattern while the requinto reinforces parts of the rhythmic structure but also improvises and interacts with the call-and-response vocals and the melodic instruments. The tuning of the drums is tight, and while the basic sound for the seguidor and the punteador is the open tone, the requinto uses open tone and slap techniques. A melodic instrument commonly incorporated in plena is the cuatro, a chordophone adapted from the six-string Spanish guitar brought over by the conquistadores. The cuatro has 10 strings arranged in five pairs, and it's usually carved from solid panels of laurel and is known for its distinct resonances. Plena ensembles sometimes added a conga drum and a single maraca as well as a trumpet, clarinet or accordion.
In Puerto Rico today there are tempo variations in the performance of plena, and the plena from Ponce, for example, is usually played slower than the plena from Santurce. Within the plena there are also tempo variations based on subgenres. The plena lamento is a slow plena set to melancholy lyrics, the plena poética has a medium tempo with poetic verses and the plena con mambo is played at a fast tempo and has a short chorus.
As with the bomba, a plena performance always includes a soloist and a chorus singing in a call-and-response style. The chorus traditionally included two singers, sometimes with one singing in harmony an octave higher. The lyrics usually deal with the events and major news of the day and are often filled with harsh satire, but some plenas are just playful, humorous accounts of personal stories and romances. Plena is often danced to, but in contrast to the bomba the dance is not an inextricable part of the genre, and the plena can be performed without dancers. It is a community event in which the audience joins in singing, clapping and dancing.
Once plena took root in the cities, and became part of the urban cultural tapestry, musicians added instruments—very often horns—as well as soneos: improvised call-and-response vocals found in other genres such as bomba and salsa.
One of the most celebrated composers of this genre was Manuel Jiménez, also known as Canario, who in the 1930s greatly popularized a somewhat modernized version of plena in Puerto Rico and the barrios of New York by adding piano, horns and bass to the basic plena arrangement. Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera reintroduced plena to the world in the mid-'50s, by rearranging the genre to fit a conjunto-style orchestra. In the 1960s and 1970s artists such as César Concepción and Mon Rivera adapted the plena into big-band arrangements, adding trombones, congas and sonero-style vocals.
NuYorican trombonist Wille Colon introduced the plena into a salsa format and also recorded with the cuatrista Yomo Toro and with Mon Rivera, featuring plena and bomba in salsa arrangements. In the 1980s, the popularity of plena was surpassed in the commercial market by salsa, merengue, rock and other imported musical genres. Plena was again relegated to special occasions, especially the Christmas season, and also provided the musical backdrop for any street protest, stemming from its traditional role as a vehicle for social commentary.
In recent years the work of earlier pioneers was picked up again by artists based in Puerto Rico and New York, such as Plena Libre and Viento de Agua, who continue to update and revitalize the plena as a popular form. And aside from the professional pleneros, pop singers like Ricky Martin have also begun to incorporate the genre into their repertoire.
—Nili Belkind
