Merengue is a type of lively, joyful music and dance that comes from the Dominican Republic. Merengue means whipped egg whites and sugar, just as it does in the English language. It is unclear as to why this name became the name of the music of the Dominican Republic. This style of music was created by Ñico Lora 1920's however it was promoted by Rafael Trujillo, the president in the 1930s, and became the country’s national music and dance style. World famous Merengue singers include Miriam Cruz & Las Chicas Del Can, Juan Luis Guerra, Wilfrido Vargas, Sergio Vargas, Johnny Ventura, Kinito Mendez, Ravel, Josie Esteban y la Patrulla 15, Pochy y su Cocoband, Fernando Villalona,Cuco Valoy, The Freddie Kenton Orquestra and Conjunto Quisqueya. Other artists popular in the Dominican Republic as of 2004 include Krisspy, Toño Rosario, El Jeffrey and Tulile. The abbreviation UPA has several meanings: United Productions of America, USA-based animation studio Ukrayinska Povstanska Armia (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), a Ukrainian nationalist partisan organization during and after the World War II Uralic Phonetic Alphabet United Progressive Alliance A political coalition ruling India, as of 2005 University Preparatory Academy of... Contredanse (also contra-dance and other variant spellings) refers to several folk dance styles in which couples dance in two facing lines. ... In Roman mythology, Decima was one of the Moirae. ... Plena is a traditional form of Puerto Rican music. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A Fender Jazz Bass Bass guitar (also called electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply bass) refers to an electric bass or an electric/acoustic string instrument with a similar appearance to the guitar, but with a larger body, commonly four strings, longer scale neck and tuned an octave lower... Binomial name Guira guira (Gmelin, 1788) The guira is a South American cuckoo. ... A guitar is a stringed musical instrument. ... Saxophones of different sizes play in different registers. ... The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the horn, trombone, euphonium, and tuba. ... A lip-reed aerophone with a predominantly cylindrical bore, the trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Merengue Cibaeno is a type of music orginated from the northern part of The Dominican Republic, El Cibao( Santiago,La vega,Montecristi,Puertoplata,Moca,and many more). ... Merenrap, or meren-rap, is a style of hip hop music which was formed from the fusion of Dominican merengue music with rapping. ... Pambiche, a Latin American Dance derived from the Merengue - the national dance of the Dominican Republic. ... Merenhouse is a style of music developed in the US and Latin America by groups such as Proyecto Uno and Zona 7. ... Merenrap, or meren-rap, is a style of hip hop music which was formed from the fusion of Dominican merengue music with rapping. ... La Voz Dominicana was the official radio and television station of the Dominican Republic during the regime of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. ... Someone who performs, composes, or conducts music is a musician. ... Dance (from Old French dancier, perhaps from Frankish) generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression (see also body language) or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... Merengue can mean either: A style of music originating in the Dominican Republic; see merengue (music) A related style of dance; see merengue (dance) See also meringue, a type of dessert. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup, as it does not appear to have been written by a native English speaker. ... This article is about Rafael L. Trujillo, former president of the Dominican Republic. ... Juan Luis Guerra (born June 7, 1957 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican singer and songwriter best known for popularizing merengue and bachata styles of music internationally. ... Wilfrido Vargas (born April 24, 1949) is a merengue musician from Dominican Republic. ... Johnny Ventura (born Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano, March 8, 1940, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican merengue composer and singer, the first to achieve widespread fame outside of the Dominican Republic. ... Fernando Villalona is a Dominican merengue singer whose popularity started to grow in the early 1980s and has not declined ever since. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Musicology

Meter: 2/4, tempo: fast.

The traditional instrumentation for an orquestra típica (traditional band), the usual performing group of folk merrengue, is a diatonic accordion, a two sided drum held on the lap called a tambora, a bass resonator of some kind, and a güira. A güira (Gwee-ra) is a percussion instrument that sounds like a maraca but in fact is a sheet of metal-- in practice, often from a five gallon oil can-- evenly perforated with a nail, shaped into a cylinder, and played with a stiff brush. The guira is brushed steadily on the downbeat with a "and-a" thrown in at certain points, or played in more complex patterns that generally mark the time. The double headed drum is played on one side with a stick (one and two and with a strong syncopation) and with the downbeat marked on the other side with the palm of the hand.

In more urban settings, merengue is played with all manner of instrumentation, but the drum beat and the guira are signatures. A saxophone is a popular replacement or addition to the accordion, along with electronic bass guitar and guitar. A proof of the great adaptability of the music can be found in the Dominican National Symphony's presentation in 2003 of a concert series entitled "Symphonic Merengue" in which the Symphonic Orchestra consisting of woodwinds, brass, strings, and the like played popular tunes. . A Fender Jazz Bass Bass guitar (also called electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply bass) refers to an electric bass or an electric/acoustic string instrument with a similar appearance to the guitar, but with a larger body, commonly four strings, longer scale neck and tuned an octave lower... A guitar is a stringed musical instrument. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Angolan merengue
• Merengue (dance)
• Bachata
• Cuarteto (Argentine variation)
• Dominican singers
• Dominican groups

Merengue is a type of lively, joyful music and dance that comes from the Dominican Republic. ... Bachata is a form of music and dance that originated in the countryside and rural marginal neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic. ... Cuarteto (Spanish: quartet), sometimes called cuartetazo or Tunga-tunga, is a musical genre born in Córdoba, Argentina. ...

External links

• An Overview of Merengue Good article with music & video clips
• Salsa and Merengue SalsaAndMerengue.com Lots of Latin Dance info
• Merengue History