Dominican Music

In the Dominican Republic, music is and has always been an integral part of their culture. It is their main source of entertainment, as well as something commonly performed at rituals and ceremonies. Traditional Dominican Republic music is very interesting because it is very unique from any other culture. There is typically three main styles of music in the D.R: Merengue, Bachata, and Reggaeton.

Merengue is the oldest style of music, dating all the way back to the 1850s. It first originated in rural, valley regions near the city of Santiago. It all began when Afro-Caribbean slaves practiced sacred rituals involving powerful drumming and sacrifices, similar to the styles in Africa where they came from. The rhythm from those customs would eventually become merengue. Merengue stayed the same for many years until 1970s, about ten years after Trujillo’s death. While the culture of the Dominican Republic changed rapidly along with migration, so did Merengue. They incorporated several more instruments and the music became faster and more complicated. Merengue is still considered to be one of the most important traditional musical styles in the Dominican Republic.

The next musical genre in the Dominican Republic is Bachata, which originated in rural neighborhoods and the countryside. It often deals with romantic ideas and makes appearances in tales of sadness and heartbreak. Bachata is very guitar based music which is an evolved form of Bolero, a slow-tempo Latin music. Throughout much of history, Bachata was degraded by society. Around the mid 1990s, bachata switched from acoustic Spanish guitar to electric steel string. Today Bachata is still very popular and rivals other popular techniques such as salsa and merengue.

The final musical style is Reggaeton, an urban form of music which gained popularity in the mid 1990s with youths of Latin America. This style blends West-Indian music influences of reggae and dancehall with those of Latin America. Reggaeton however has caused some controversy due to the alleged exploitation of women. Many songs also contain violent and explicit lyrics. Reggaeton continues to be the third most popular musical genre around the Dominican Republic.