Bachata
Latin Music
TYPE OF MUSIC
"Bachata" music genre means "party" or "social meeting".
Bachata is has become popularly listened to in US specifically in South Florida and NYC, and is danced and played all around the world.
Some of the classic artists of Bachata are José Manuel Calderón who recorded the first Bachata songs in 1960s, and there is Juan Luis Segura who is considered “father of Bachata” for having the first popular classic “Bachata Rosa”.
HISTORY OF THE MUSIC
The origin of Bachata is in the 20th century around the 1920s. It was founded in the Dominican Republic, and is a mix of Bolero, Caribbean, with Traditional African elements and was first called “bolero campesino” which meant peasant bolero.
Bachata music was influenced by Cuban and romantic Bolero, which is slow.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MUSIC
Instruments used most of the time are guitars and the vocals are usually a male's.
Some social and culture traditions Bachata is associated with is at parties and partly why it got it’s name. Also, Bachata in the beginning was thought to be for lower class people, and was not very popular.
Costumes during Bachata dancing is based mostly for comfort for all the steps and movements dancers have to do. It's best not to wear a short skirt or a flawy dress that is too tight, and this is because there are many motions that the wrong dress could make it hard to dance.
Famous artists that are associated with Bachata is for one Anthony Santos, who is one of the first that made bachata mainstream. Then there is the group Adventura, who are known for their single “Obsession” which is one of the most popular bachata songs internationally.
CONNECTION TO DANCE
One characteristic of the dances is that it is three step dance with four beat per measures, using mostly the lower body with hip swaying motions. For the basic bachata you would step back and fourth in the center with your partner, and count the steps one, two, three, tap, and then five, six, seven, tap; tapping on 4 and eight.
THE MUSIC TODAY
The projected future of Bachata is that there will be new styles of it, with more instruments and electronic sounds, and this is because it has been happening gradually since the 1980s, and since technology is now one of the big ways for how the world innovates.