Bachata: Bachata is a form of music and dance that orginated in the countryside of the Dominican Republic and in the marginalized neighborhoods around Santo Domingo. The music utilizes a lead guitar (electric or acoustic), an additiontional guitar called the segunda, bass, güira, and bongo. Below are examples of bachata being danced. New examples will be added on occasion and if you are interested in receiving updates on a bachata dance instructional video that is now in production by Horizon Line Documentary please contact adam_taub@hotmail.com

 

 
Here two couples are dancing to a bachata by Juan Bautista from the 1980s in a colmado in Santo Domingo. Colmados are more than corner stores but are also places where people gather, to socialize, talk, drink, watch baseball, and dance.
  
   

Merengue: Merengue is a Caribbean dance and music style in 2/4 time, and is considered the national music of the Dominican Republic. Types of merengue include perico ripiao / merengue tipico, merengue de orquesta, and merengue de guitarra. They differ in the instruments utilized, the regions they are played, their pacing, and the overall feel of the music and dance.

 
Two couples dancing to a merengue in a Dominican colmado. The song is by Joan Soriano "El Duque de la Bachata."