Merengue

Country of origin: Dominican Republic & Colombia

Description:

1. Merengue was originated in the island nation of Dominican Republic. Merengue is played on accordion, saxophone, mar?mbula(box bass with metal plucked keys), a guiro (a metal scraper) and a two-ended tambora drum that is struck with a hand and stick.

This rural music had its golden age during the dictatorship of Rafaelo Trujillo who ruled the Dominican Republic from the 1930s until his assassination in 1961. Trujillo promoted merengue as a form of national expression and as a symbol of the culture of the underclass. The dictator?s efforts provided an opportunity for musicians to meet at dance halls. The music prospered, and larger merengue orchestras with piano and brass sections were established to cater to a growing audience.

Eventually, merengue became synonymous with big bands and dance halls. In the 1960s, influences from North America and the salsa of other Caribbean countries reached the Dominican Republic and changed the sound of merengue. What emerged was a sharp and stuttering quality that the traditional style did not have. Later on, electric guitars, keyboards and synthesizers replaced the conventional accordion and sampled its sound. Despite the change in instruments, the rhythm of merengue has changed very little. The merengue crazed of the 1960s reached the neighborhoods and clubs of New York and was later superseded by the immense interest in salsa in the 80?s.

The recent recession in the Dominican Republic left only a few bands playing live music, making the live music of merengue groups available only in towns and cities visited by tourists. Recently, there has been a resurgence of merengue through the works of dedicated artists such as neo-merengue composer Juan Lu?s Guerra and Joaquin Diaz among others.

2. One of the four basic rhythms of vallenato music. The word merengue goes back to colonial times and comes from the word muserengue, the name of one of the African cultures that was taken from the coast of Guinea to Colombia's Atlantic coast. The traditional merengue vallenato, has a beat of 6/8, a derived rhythm, since the original beats were 4/4, 3/3 and 2/2 from this point of view the merengue vallenato is the most complex air and at the same time the most original of the four traditions.

The merengue differs from the other airs in the performance and the first bass rhythm, which is usually 3/1 and sometimes of 1/ 3, according to the characteristic structure of the melody, although the performer can play it faster if he pleases. Melodically, it is the richer of the vallenato rhythms and its performance allows the player to show all his abilities and make a true display of cadence and harmony.

Other World Music Genres