Where is merengue from

The music that accompanies the Merengue is very dynamic. In ballroom Merengue, the music is generally slower. However, in clubs and restaurants with dance floors, the music is generally quick paced, usually ending in a bright and fast Jive.

The Merengue was first introduced into the United States in the New York area, but did not become widely known until several years after its initial introduction. Instruments Musicians. Merengue is a combination of two dances, the African and the French Minuet, from the late 's - early 's. The African slaves saw the ballroom dances in the Big Houses and when they had their own festivities started mimicking the "masters' dances".

But the Europeans dances were not fun, they were very boring and staid, so over time, the slaves added a special upbeat provided by the drums , this was a slight skip or a hop. The original Merengue was not danced by individual couples, but was a circle dance, each man and woman faced each other and holding hands - at arm's length.

They did not hold each other closely and the original movements of this dance were only the shaking of the shoulders and swift movement of the feet. There was no blatant movement of the hips like there is today, as native African dances do not move the hips. In fact, African dances, as well as other Indigenous dances throughout the world, consist of complicated steps and arm movements. Tribal dancing does not have "primitive" sexual shaking of the hips, this is only done in Hollywood movies.

So, the origin of the Merengue is very similar to that of the "Cake Walk" dance of the American South. The second section is dominated by improvisation, more complex rhythms, and hard-driving mambo, or the part of the song where melody instruments sax and accordion unite to play catchy, syncopated riffs or jaleos which help motivate and stimulate dancers.

Pambiche or merengue apambichao is similar but usually slower, and can be recognized by the double slap rhythm on the tambora. Guinchao is a third rhythm combining the first two that is commonly heard in the second section of a merengue.

Paseo was a slow introduction to a merengue song during which couples would promenade around the dance floor in stately fashion. Me encanto el articulo se ve que la autora es muy conocedora en el tema, le felicito muy educativo.

Skip to main content. Merengue: Popular Music of the Dominican Republic By Sydney Hutchinson An overview of the basic styles of merengue, from tipico - perico ripiao - to orchestral. Do not include in Articles:. Share this. Notify me when new comments are posted. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

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