Something interesting about some Latin American genres is that they originated from the islands. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic are very influential when it comes to music. I have already discussed salsa and merengue which originated from the islands. One other genre very popular from the island of the Dominican Republic is bachata.

 

Bachata, like salsa, merengue, and cumbia, originated from a mixture of European, African, and Indigenous sounds. Bachata is well known for its reliance on guitar. Other instruments incorporated are bongos and güira.

Courtesy of Berkeley

Bachata does not have a long history. The genres first original song was recorded in 1961by Jose Calderon. The genre was originally compared to another Latin genre called bolero which was popular in Cuba and Puerto Rico.  

Courtesy of iASO Records

Bachata began as a romantic genre. The genre was popular for couples and was meant to be danced by couples. Bachata is iconic for being an intimate dance and it is not that difficult as compared to dancing salsa.

 

Here is a video of two people dancing to a very popular song in the genre of bachata. Watch this to get an idea of the dance of bachata.

 

 

Unfortunately, bachata started becoming a genre that was considered trashy. According to an article about the history of bachata, the reason for this is that it was being associated with the bad things in the streets. The genre was associated with prostitution and poverty. The genre told stories, but it was losing its elegance in a way. As time has gone by, it has regained a lot of popularity and it is once again a genre for lovers. Juan Luis Guerra is one notable artist that brought back the beauty of the genre because he was an elegant artist listened to by the wealthy and elite. The lyrics in the genre now continue to be romantic and the beat is meant to be danced intimately.

 

Here is a classic Juan Luis Guerra bachata performed live at the largest Latin American music festival:

 

 

Bachata is still very popular today in the Dominican Republic and in many Latin American countries. The genre has even expanded into parts of the United States where there is Dominican influence or Latin culture. Two modern iconic artists in the genre are Romeo Santos and Prince Royce. Both have brought life to the genre and have increased its popularity. Both sing the genre in falsetto and both write very romantic lyrics. Below I have included very popular songs by both artists. Each song reached over 1 billion views on Youtube, this shows the influence. The songs are typical bachata and are commonly heard at parties.

 

The genre remains one of the biggest genres in Latin America along with merengue and salsa. The intimacy and romantic nature of the genre keep it popular and keep couples dancing all night long.