Bachata is a type of danceable music from the Dominican Republic, deriving from a fusion of the rhythmic bolero with other Afro-Antillean genres such as the Son, Cha-cha-cha, Merengue, and Son.
The Bachata genre originated in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century. It combines the southwestern European influences, as well as African and Sub-Saharan influences.
It is considered a vernacular cultural expression, omnipresent in community celebrations and social gatherings. The lyrics of Bachata are often filled with deep, visceral feelings of love, passion, nostalgia, etc. According to etymology, the term bachata is derived from an African word meaning “lively gathering”, not a genre of music specifically.
The Bachata is traditionally performed by one or two guitarists (electric guitars are widely used nowadays), as well as percussion composed of bongos, maracas, and a guiro, accompanied by a bass. A Bachata tune has four tempos per beat, usually with a lead singer.
The dance is equally passionate, with a sensual hip movement and a simple eight-step structure. While the bachatas recorded in the 1960s had a distinctly Dominican flavor, they were regarded at the time as a variant of the bolero, as the term bachata had not yet become widely used, it originally referred to an informal rustic party.
As an expression of cultural backwardness, the Dominican government launched a campaign to brand bachata in this negative light. Despite the fact that it was not always legal, listening to this kind of music was considered "vulgar and sensual" and the upper class did not want to tarnish their reputations so they did not dance or listen to bachata. It was not long before, by the early 1980s, bachata's popularity couldn't be denied.
Increasingly, radio stations began playing bachata, and bachateros soon began performing on tv as well. By the early 1990s, the sound had been further modernized, and two new young stars dominated the bachata scene: Luis Vargas and Antony Santos. Both singers performed bachata-merengues as part of their repertoires. Led by lead singer Anthony "Romeo" Santos, the Aventura bachata group, in the early 21st century, took the bachata envisioned by Juan Luis Guerra in the early 1990s to new heights.
Since the element has been part of every traditional celebration in the Dominican Republic for years, it is taught spontaneously from a young age, but there are over a hundred academies, studios, and schools that teach the dance today