Merengue, Kompa, and Dictatorships in Hispaniola

Trujillo and Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) in a meeting. Two dictators, two countries, same island. Papa Doc came to power while the aging Trujillo was beginning to lose it, but the relations between the two governments would be an interesting history project. And while both were similar autocrats, Papa Doc seems to have been more of a kleptocrat and created a more terrifying force to intimidate the masses while Trujillo supported industrialization. Moreover, both promoted related genres of dance music, Trujillo nationalizing merengue while Papa Doc and his son promoted kompa, which was influenced by 1950s merengue. Looking at music alone during both of their horrid reigns would be an interesting project for how both used music to express a nationalistic identity that, naturally, could be manipulated and used to promote their power. Check out the links below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFYCfk2NMc0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVgR6mtebvA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcCinJHPCL4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSGjLTlDxtM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weFmRXJ3kOs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8phy586SGaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwNoVSVflec
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC2nHA35Qys&index=19