merengue

merengue, couple dance originating in the Dominican Republic, strongly influenced by Venezuelan and Afro-Cuban musical practices and by dances throughout Latin America. Originally, and still, a rural folk dance and later a ballroom dance, the merengue is at its freest away from the ballroom. It is danced with a limping step, the weight always on the same foot. The music is in 4/4 time with three sections: paseo, merengue, and jaleo. There are several varieties, some with other names, e.g., jaleo and juangomero. The traditional accompaniment, which often combines duple and triple meters and sometimes produces 5/8 effects, is an ensemble consisting of guitar, metal scraper (charrasca), and two drums (one single-headed, the other double).