Brief history of bachata

Music genre from the Dominican Republic

This article is about music genre.

Brief history of bachata

For dance type, see Bachata (dance).

Bachata is a genre of music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the 20th century. It contains elements of European (mainly Spanish music), indigenous Taino and African musical elements, representing the cultural diversity of the Dominican population.^[1] The form of dance, bachata, also developed with the music.^[2]

In the s bachata's instrumentation changed from nylon string Spanish guitar and maracas of traditional bachata to the electric steel string and guira of modern bachata.

Bachata further transformed in the 21st century with the creation of urban bachata styles by bands such as Monchy y Alexandra and Aventura.^[3] These new modern styles of bachata became an international phenomenon, and today bachata is one of the most popular styles of Latin music.

The original term used to name the genre was amarg