What is merengue? Origins, music and what makes the dance

Merengue is a partner dance and music style from the Dominican Republic. The basics are simple, which is why you often come across it at Latin schools and socials next to salsa and bachata.

What is merengue?

Music and dance from the Dominican Republic, and an important part of Dominican identity. Since 2016 the music and dance of merengue have been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. A presidential decree from 2005 (number 619-05) made 26 November the national day of merengue. That date refers to 26 November 1854, when the word merengue first appeared in print as far as is known, in the weekly El Oasis.

Where does merengue come from?

From the Dominican Republic, in the middle of the nineteenth century. Most information about early merengue comes from the Cibao, the region around Santiago in the north. Nobody knows exactly how old the dance is: the 1854 piece in El Oasis was a critical description of a dance that already existed. At first musicians played string instruments. Then came the accordion, according to tradition traded for tobacco by German merchants, and it became the main instrument of merengue típico. The Dominican Academy of History places the arrival of the accordion in the 1870s, other sources in the 1880s.

The dictator Rafael Trujillo (in power from 1930 to 1961) made merengue the national music and used it for propaganda. After his death the singer Johnny Ventura and his Combo Show brought a smaller, faster and more show-oriented merengue. In the 1970s the tempo was pushed up further, with influences from disco and rock. According to UNESCO its influence reaches Puerto Rico, the United States and the Caribbean, and merengue is also popular in Venezuela, Colombia and Central America.

What music do you dance merengue to?

To fast music in a two-part metre; one source notates it as 2/4, another as 4/4. The traditional line-up of merengue típico, also called perico ripiao, is accordion, güira (a metal scraper) and tambora, a drum. There are also merengue de orquesta, a big-band form, and merengue de guitarra. UNESCO names the accordion, drum and saxophone as the instruments of merengue.

How do you dance merengue?

In closed hold, with slightly bent knees, so the hips move from left to right. Both partners always move their hips in the same direction. The step is called a danced walk: you walk sideways or circle around each other in small steps. The upper body stays calm, even when the music is fast, and turns are slow, usually over four counts. A traditional merengue has three parts: the paseo, a short instrumental introduction during which couples walk onto the floor, then the merengue itself, and finally the jaleo, the longest part, with repeated patterns and room for improvisation. Many present-day merengues leave out the paseo.

For beginners that is pleasant. You pick up the basics quickly, and you can give your attention to the connection with your partner. Leading and following are roles, not genders (see Lead, follow or switch).

Where do you dance merengue?

At Latin schools merengue often comes up as part of salsa or bachata classes, and at socials you regularly hear one in between. Find a Latin school through salsa on Discover or bachata on Discover, for example salsa in Rotterdam or bachata in Utrecht. Also read Salsa, bachata or kizomba.

Sources

• UNESCO, Music and dance of the merengue in the Dominican Republic (2016): https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/music-and-dance-of-the-merengue-in-the-dominican-republic-01162
• Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores República Dominicana, Día del Merengue brochure (decree 619-05, El Oasis 1854; in Spanish): https://mirex.gob.do/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/brochure_merengue.pdf
• El Día, 26 de noviembre, Día Nacional del Merengue, una cuestión ignorada (Ismael Hernández Guerrero, 26 November 2020; in Spanish): https://eldia.com.do/26-de-noviembre-dia-nacional-del-merengue-una-cuestion-ignorada/
• Academia Dominicana de la Historia, Historia General del Pueblo Dominicano, volume VI, p. 726 (Cibao, accordion in the 1870s; in Spanish): https://hgpdvol6.academiadominicanahistoria.org.do/726/
• Academia Dominicana de la Historia, Historia General del Pueblo Dominicano, volume VI, p. 731 (paseo, merengue, jaleo; in Spanish): https://hgpdvol6.academiadominicanahistoria.org.do/731/
• Academia Dominicana de la Historia, Historia General del Pueblo Dominicano, volume VI, p. 741 (merengue under Trujillo, perico ripiao; in Spanish): https://hgpdvol6.academiadominicanahistoria.org.do/741/
• NBC News, Johnny Ventura, legendary Dominican merengue singer, dies at 81 (July 2021): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/johnny-ventura-legendary-dominican-merengue-singer-dies-81-n1275345
• Wikipedia, Merengue music (metre, accordion in the 1880s, types, 1960s and 1970s): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merengue_music
• Wikipedia, Merengue (dance) (hold and step, after Yvonne Daniel, Caribbean and Atlantic Diaspora Dance, University of Illinois Press, 2011): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merengue_(dance)