bachata

bachata is a popular guitar music, which was originated in the countryside and the rural neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic. Bachata took shape over a period of 40 years in the bars and brothels of the different cities, this genre did not gain acceptance until 10 years ago. Bachata is a variant of bolero. the bolero in our culture is traditionally romantic, dealing with themes like deception and lost of love. Bachata subjects are must of the time romantic; especially prevalent are tales of heartbrake and sadness, just like bolero's music. Bachata dance is a four-step beat achieved with a walking Cuban hip motion, and a unique "pop". The dance is performed both in open position and in closed position depending on the setting and mood of the partners.

 

The genre of bachata has passed throught many faces since 1961, because for that time bachata was considered as the music played in places of ill repute. With the death of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in 1963 a huge number of musicians left the rural areas to record their music in the capital. During the era of the dictator the music was monopolized by his family and with his dead arise the first generation of "bachateros". The 1970s was a dark era for bachata because it was even metioned  on tv or played on the radio, because of the content of the music. By the 1980s bachata began to take some place in the dominican society, due to popular demand of the population.  By the 1990s the sound was modernized and the bachata was dominated by two young stars: Luis Vargas and Anthony Santos. Both mix bachata with merengue in their repertoires. They were the first generation of pop bachata artists and with them the bachata began to emerge internationally as a music of hispanic dance-halls.

Juan Luis Guerra and Aventura are accreditted the most important representatives of bachata, they have taken the genre around USA, Europe, and almost all Latin America.